Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has joined human rights defenders and former political prisoners at Washington’s Lincoln Memorial to call for the release of detained political figures, bringing renewed international attention to cases involving prominent members of Uganda’s opposition.
The gathering took place on Friday, October 30, during the International Day of Political Prisoners. At the event, Bobi Wine read out the names of several Ugandans he described as detained comrades, including opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, National Unity Platform (NUP) member Doreen Kaija and the party’s deputy spokesperson, Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro.
In a message published after the ceremony, Bobi Wine said he had joined human rights defenders from Uganda and other countries to stand in solidarity with political prisoners and remember people who had died in detention around the world.
He called on people in countries where fundamental freedoms are protected to support efforts seeking the rights and release of political detainees, while also extending assistance to their families.
The event, titled Roll Call for Freedom, was organised by the October 30 Coalition, Freedom House and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). It brought together advocates, families of detainees, former prisoners and representatives of organisations working on political freedom and human rights.
According to the organisers, the ceremony was designed to make the cases of political prisoners visible by publicly reading their names, recognising those who had been released and remembering people who died while in detention. The gathering was held at the Lincoln Memorial, one of Washington’s most recognisable public landmarks.
Among the Ugandan cases highlighted was that of Dr Kizza Besigye, a longtime opposition figure and former presidential candidate who has been in custody since November 2024, after being arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, and taken to Uganda.
Besigye faces treason-related charges alongside his aide, Obeid Lutale, and Captain Denis Oola. They have denied the accusations. His detention has drawn sustained criticism from his family, opposition supporters and human rights advocates, particularly following concerns about his health and reports of hospital treatment earlier this year.
Bobi Wine also named Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro, the NUP deputy spokesperson, who has been detained in connection with charges brought against him by Ugandan authorities. His case has attracted attention from opposition supporters, who have raised concerns about the circumstances and duration of his detention.
Doreen Kaija, another person named by Bobi Wine, was an administrator at the NUP leadership school in Kamwokya. She was arrested in September 2025 and faces charges relating to her alleged involvement in offences connected to the institution.
The Ugandan government has maintained that criminal cases involving detained individuals should be handled through the country’s judicial system. Opposition leaders and human rights advocates, however, argue that the continued detention of several opposition figures has undermined political freedoms and trust in the country’s institutions.
The Washington gathering came amid continued disagreement within Uganda over the treatment of political detainees. In recent discussions about a proposed national dialogue, opposition parties have called for the release of those they consider political prisoners, while representatives of the ruling National Resistance Movement have argued that cases involving serious criminal charges must proceed through the courts.
The International Day of Political Prisoners is observed on October 30. Its origins are traced to a hunger strike staged by political prisoners in Soviet labour camps in 1974 to protest their treatment and demand recognition of their status.
For Bobi Wine, taking the names of detained Ugandans to an international gathering offered another opportunity to draw attention beyond the country’s borders to cases that have remained central to Uganda’s political debate.
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