Uganda: Besigye bail denials seriously troubling
Press releases
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
13 August 2025
Delivered by
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Liz Throssell
Location
Geneva
Repeated denials of bail to detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye and his associate Obeid Lutale are seriously troubling.
Besigye and Lutale were on 8 August denied bail for the third time since their abduction in neighbouring Kenya and forcible return to Uganda in November last year.
In dismissing their latest request, the High Court found them ineligible for mandatory bail merely on the ground that they had been detained in civil prison for less than the 180 days required to qualify for release on mandatory bail. It did not account for their prior deprivation of liberty following their abduction and forced return in November.
We urge the authorities to reconsider the decision and grant them bail, and to ensure that any legal proceedings against them are fully in line with international human rights law.
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