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Winnie Byanyima, wife of opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, has strongly condemned what she described as a cruel and wicked act following reports that poet and political activist Sam Mugumya was abducted and tortured by security forces.
Reacting to claims made by exiled writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, Byanyima said on X that the alleged abduction and torture of Mugumya—who once served as Besigye’s aide—reflected the brutal treatment faced by Ugandans who oppose President Yoweri Museveni’s regime.
“If true, this is a most cruel and wicked act. Sam Mugumya, aide to Kizza Besigye, supported his campaigns—and is being blackmailed,” Byanyima wrote.
She added that the same pattern of intimidation has targeted several people close to her family, including their late housekeeper Aisha Kiguli, who she said was abducted and blackmailed before her death.
“Abductions, blackmail, torture, disappearances, killings—this is what our young people face for disagreeing with President Kaguta Museveni. This MUST stop,” she said, using the hashtags #FreeSamMugumya and #FreeAllPoliticalPrisonersInUganda to call for his release and that of other detainees.
Byanyima’s remarks come after Kakwenza claimed Mugumya was being held at Mbuya Military Barracks after refusing to testify against Besigye in a treason case.
Mugumya had reportedly been offered freedom in exchange for false testimony implicating Besigye in rebel activities, an offer he allegedly rejected.
Mugumya, a former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) activist, previously spent eight years in a military prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo before his release in 2020.