Winnie Byanyima, the wife of jailed veteran opposition leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye, has said that the mass organized to pray for her husband, all prisoners, and the sick was postponed on orders of President Museveni.
The mass initially scheduled for Monday at Lubaga Cathedral, drew politicians from various opposition parties. However, attendees were met with a notice on church screens stating that the mass had been postponed.
Despite the absence of clergy, some participants still entered the cathedral.
Byanyima revealed that she was personally informed by the Archbishop of Kampala, Rt. Rev. Paul Ssemogerere, about the directive from the President.
“I was called here yesterday by the Archbishop, His Grace, Paul Ssemogerere, and he told me that he had received a call from President Museveni asking him to cancel the mass.”
Despite the President’s instruction, Byanyima explained that the Archbishop tried to convince the President uphold the Catholic tradition of prayer.
“He pleaded with him not to cancel the mass. The Archbishop explained to him that this is Catholic tradition, he told him that we were married here, and we were prayed for, and that I came to ask for prayers for him in a period of Lent, and that that’s the tradition – to pray for our family intentions.”
Ultimately, the Archbishop postponed the mass pending further investigation by the President, leaving Byanyima and other opposition leaders unable to hold the service as planned.
“He finally relented and said, ‘Okay, postpone the mass. I need to do an investigation.’ So His Grace told me that he would wait to hear back from President Museveni after the investigation and then schedule another time for us to come and pray for Dr. Besigye and other prisoners. So we are here, unable to have the mass we wanted because of the order of our President.”
The mass had been scheduled for 2:00 PM under the theme drawn from Matthew 25:35–37: “I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”
Dr. Besigye, along with his aide, was arrested on November 16, 2024, in Kenya and subsequently handed over to Ugandan security authorities. He was arraigned before a military court in Kampala on November 21, 2024, facing treason charges, and remanded to Luzira Prison.
Since his remand, Besigye has reportedly faced recurring health challenges. On several occasions, prison authorities transferred him to external medical facilities for treatment.
Byanyima and other opposition leaders have repeatedly urged the government to grant him access to specialized medical care, while the Uganda Prisons Service maintains that his condition is being appropriately managed.
