bedbug infestation
Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) has trashed claims of inhumane treatment of jailed opposition bigwig Rtd. Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye as nothing but lies cooked up by his allies and family.
In a strongly worded press release dated June 20, 2025, UPS rubbished claims that Luzira Upper Maximum Security Prison is infested with bedbugs or that the former FDC strongman is being tortured.
The prisons instead accuses some opposition leaders of spreading misinformation. UPS spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja, also the Senior Commissioner of Prisons scoffed at claims that Besigye shares a ward with 15 other inmates but is also in solitary confinement, calling it a contradiction meant to stir public emotion.
Baine clarified that the Uganda Prisons Service operates professionally and within the law, guided by national regulations and the internationally recognized Nelson Mandela Rules.
He has asked the public to ignore what “misinformation and disinformation” regarding Besigye’s detention conditions.
This statement comes hours after Besigye’s wife and ED USAID, Winnie Byanyima told journalists during a press meeting at the couple’s residence in Wakiso that they prisons has resorted to a deliberate strategy of infesting his ward with bedbugs to torture him.
bedbug infestation
She revealed that Besigye is in solitary confinement, barred from speaking to fellow inmates, and shares a dark, bedbug-infested cell with ten men who have been on remand for over a decade on alleged links to the ADF rebel group.
Byanyima disclosed that Besigye recently attempted a hunger strike to protest his treatment but suspended it due to health concerns. She described his detention as politically motivated and unlawful, calling on President Museveni to show compassion given Besigye’s age.
