Winnie Byanyima, the wife of Ugandan politician Kizza Besigye, on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, confronted Kenya’s President William Ruto in New York over the abduction of her husband in Nairobi. Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, also defended her continued engagement with African leaders after meeting Ruto at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), despite the prolonged detention of her husband, jailed by President Yoweri Museveni’s administration.
During the engagement with President Ruto, Byanyima supported the president’s role in the African Union as a champion for local manufacturing of Medical Products.
Byanyima, who heads UNAIDS, affirmed she would continue meeting governments, businesses and other leaders as she pursues work focused on ending AIDS and Ebola, preventing future pandemics and advancing Africa’s health sovereignty.
However, she clarified that her engagements with the president of Kenya were to push her campaign for the release of her husband, Kizza.
“I also raised the continuing persecution of Dr Kizza Besigye. He was abducted in Nairobi in November 2024, forcibly taken to Uganda and has remained in detention since,” Winnie Byanyima stated on September 24.
Also Read: Besigye Rushed to Hospital as Wife Sends Emotional Message to Museveni
Nairobi Protest
On September 21, 2026, activists took to the streets of Nairobi demanding the release of Ugandan opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye.
They also demanded answers from the Kenyan government on how Kizza was taken from Nairobi to Uganda in November 2024.
The protesters planned to march through the CBD towards the President’s Office on Harambee Avenue and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the September protests, several activists, including Julius Haruda Migori, Dickson Muli, Collins Otieno, and Julius Kamau, were arrested and later presented to court over the incident.
Appearing before the court, the protestors were accused of unlawfully obstructing the movement of vehicles along Mama Ngina Street.
The charge was brought under Section 58(c) of the Traffic Act/Road Act, Chapter 408 of the Laws of Kenya.
Following the protest, Winnie Byanyima on September 24 noted that Kenyans have the right to demand answers from the government and its role in abductions, citing that Uganda still struggles for freedom.
“Kenyans are right to demand answers about whether their security agencies played any role in his abduction. Their democracy gives them that right. We Ugandans continue our struggle for freedom and democracy,” Winnie Byanyima said.
Kizza Besigye’s Abduction
Besigye was reported missing in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, while in Kenya for a book launch involving former Kenyan presidential candidate Martha Karua, and appeared before Uganda’s General Court Martial in Kampala on November 20, 2024, alongside Haji Obed Lutale.
At the time, Besigye’s lawyers said they had taken him from Kenya and brought him to Uganda. Besigye told the military court he had been held in isolation and was only informed he was being taken to court shortly before his appearance.
Ugandan prosecutors accused Besigye and Lutale of offenses including unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition and alleged intention to compromise national security.
However, the defense challenged the military court’s jurisdiction, arguing that Besigye was a civilian and that some of the alleged offenses occurred outside Uganda.
Amnesty International subsequently described the events as an abduction from Nairobi and said Besigye had resurfaced in Uganda on November 20 before being remanded at Luzira Maximum Security Prison.
In July 2026, Uganda’s High Court dismissed an application seeking to nullify the criminal trial based on alleged abduction and detention, describing the application as speculative and an abuse of court process, and ordered the trial to proceed.
Also Read: Uganda’s Military Chief Threatens to Execute Kizza Besigye
Kenya on Kizza Besigye’s Abduction
During the 2024 abduction of the Ugandan opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, Kenya’s government denied involvement when the allegations emerged.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said Kenya had no role in Besigye’s alleged arrest or deportation and dismissed Kenya’s participation in the operation.
“There is no reason whatsoever for Kenya to be a party to his arrest, if any. Absolutely not! Preposterous to even suggest it,” Sing’oei Korir explained on the matter on November 20.
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