Opposition leader Bobi Wine, has joined Winnie Byanyima, the wife of jailed opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, in Washington, DC, to demand the release of political prisoners in Uganda and across the world.
The two met at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday, October 30, 2026, during an event marking the International Day of Political Prisoners.
The gathering brought together families of detainees, former political prisoners and human rights defenders from different countries to call for justice and freedom.
Byanyima, who has spent nearly two years campaigning for her husband’s release, shared photographs and videos of the event on X on October 31, praising Bobi Wine for encouraging families whose relatives remain in detention.
“We are at Lincoln Memorial marking International Day of Political Prisoners. Thank you @NED for bringing families, human rights defenders and former political prisoners,” she wrote.
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Bobi Wine, who has been outside Uganda following the disputed 2026 presidential election, was among the prominent figures invited to participate in the event.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which organised the gathering alongside the October 30 Coalition, had announced that the Ugandan opposition leader would deliver a musical performance.
The ceremony also featured former political prisoners, including Rwanda’s Paul Rusesabagina and Cuban artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who were invited to share their experiences.
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Byanyima recalls Besigye’s sacrifices
Byanyima said the gathering provided another opportunity to draw international attention to her husband’s detention and declining health.
In an emotional tribute, she recalled how Dr Besigye abandoned his medical career at the age of 26 to join the armed struggle that brought President Yoweri Museveni to power in 1986.
“Forty-four years ago, at just 26, my life partner, Dr Kizza Besigye, abandoned his career as a medical doctor to join a liberation struggle against dictatorship in Uganda,” she wrote.
“We won that war. But tragically, the liberators became the oppressors.”
She said her husband refused to abandon the principles that had driven him into the liberation struggle and later challenged President Museveni in the 2001 presidential election.
Byanyima described the years that followed as a painful journey marked by arrests, imprisonment and persecution.
“For 25 years, he has paid a terrible price. Repeated arrests, imprisonment, torture, persecution. But never surrender,” she wrote.
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She also reflected on his current condition, saying the nearly two years he has spent in detention have taken a heavy toll on his health.
“Today, nearly two years after his abduction from Kenya, Kizza remains in prison, denied bail, facing a treason trial.”
“His body is weakened. But his spirit is unbroken.”
Byanyima maintained that her husband would not abandon his political convictions despite his prolonged detention.
“I know this man. I know his courage. I know his principles. He cannot be bought. He cannot be frightened into silence,” she wrote.
Dr Besigye has been in custody since November 2024, when he was seized in Nairobi, Kenya, and brought to Uganda.
He faces treason charges alongside his aide Obeid Lutale and Capt Denis Oola over allegations of plotting to overthrow President Museveni’s government. They deny the charges.
His health deteriorated after he collapsed during proceedings at the High Court in Kampala on July 29, 2026.
He was admitted to Mulago National Referral Hospital, where he received intensive medical care. His recovery has since required rehabilitation, including assistance with walking and speaking.
The October 30 gathering in Washington aimed to recognise political prisoners worldwide, remember those who died in detention and support families campaigning for their relatives’ freedom.
Organisers also read out names of detainees from different countries to draw attention to their cases.
Byanyima said families and human rights defenders had united around a common demand.
“We are families and human rights defenders from all over the world. We call for justice and freedom for our loved ones,” she wrote, using the hashtags #FreeKizzaBesigye and #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners.
