The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party ,a political platform ,jailed Dr Kizza Besigye helped to form ,has declared a Prayer Week as it marks one year since his arrest.
Addressing journalists at the party headquarters in Kampala on Monday , acting party president Erias Lukwago called upon all peace-loving Ugandans to join in praying for the veteran opposition figure and all political prisoners.
“We call upon all peace-loving Ugandans—not only members of PFF—that in all your prayers, private and public, remember Dr. Besigye and other political prisoners. We kindly ask all of you, especially the candidates in our campaign rallies, to begin with a prayer for Dr Besigye and all political prisoners,” Mr Lukwago said.
He added: “This request is not only for our candidates but also for all comrades in various political formations who are seeking regime change.” Despite the hardships, he said he was grateful that the duo is still alive. Mr Lukwago urged candidates to prioritise the issue of freeing political prisoners in their campaigns, noting that “everything begins with our freedom, and any of us can fall victim.”
Dr Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale have been on remand in Luzira since their arrest from Riverside Apartments in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 16, 2024. Mr Lukwago recounted the long and exhausting struggle to secure justice and freedom for their leader, describing the past year as one filled with repeated court frustrations and numerous rejected bail applications, often with what he termed unreasonable justification from judicial officers.
“That’s how frustrating the legal battle has been for us. In a nutshell, for this one year that Dr Besigye and Lutale have been in prison, there hasn’t been even a single court order in our favour. Not even one intervention from agencies mandated to protect human rights—whether the Uganda Human Rights Commission, Parliament, or any state or non-state body. Nothing,” he said.
“Nothing has come to the rescue of Dr Besigye and Obeid Lutale,” he added. Mr Lukwago further noted that the process has been marred by shocking incidents, including the arrest and detention of their colleague, lawyer Aaron Kizza, by the court martial.