National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya has recalled a 2022 meeting in Nairobi involving jailed Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and two Ugandan refugees, highlighting the worsening circumstances facing the former presidential candidate.
Rubongoya shared a photograph taken in November 2022 during the Uganda Human Rights Accountability Conference in Nairobi.
He said Besigye used the occasion to counsel and encourage two Ugandan activists, the late Marinos Alexandria and Luzige Masuudi, who were living in Kenya after fleeing what he described as persistent threats to their lives.
According to Rubongoya, the photograph has taken on a deeper meaning following Besigye’s current legal and health challenges. He said it was “very sad” that Besigye, who was offering support to fellow Ugandans in exile at the time, is now fighting for his life while in the hands of Uganda’s justice system.
Rubongoya accused Uganda’s criminal justice system of being compromised, describing it as a “captured” system. His remarks come amid continued concerns from Besigye’s supporters over his detention and reported health condition.
The NUP official also reflected on the fate of the two activists pictured with Besigye. He said Alexandria has since died after suffering ailments that he linked to her alleged abduction and torture.
Masuudi, Rubongoya said, eventually managed to relocate to the United States, where he is undergoing reconstructive surgery. The procedure is intended to address injuries he allegedly sustained from bullet wounds to his face, neck and chest.
Rubongoya’s statement offered a personal account of the risks faced by Ugandan opposition activists and critics who have fled the country over security concerns.
The comments also place Besigye’s current situation within a broader history of political repression and allegations of human rights violations in Uganda.
Besigye, a longtime critic of President Yoweri Museveni, has faced repeated arrests and legal battles over the years.
Rubongoya concluded his reflection with a brief reference to Uganda, linking the photograph from Nairobi to the broader political struggles facing opposition figures and activists in the country.