Nairobi, Kisumu feature in Kizza Besigye’s treason trial

• Besigye is jointly charged with his aide, Hajji Obeid Lutale, and a UPDF officer, Captain Denis Oola.

• Kenyan cities Nairobi and Kisumu have featured in the prosecution’s case.

Opposition leader Kizza Besigye stands in a steel dock at the Uganda Military General Court Martial in Makindye, a suburb of Kampala, Uganda December 2, 2024. REUTERS Abubaker Lubowa/File Photo

Veteran Ugandan opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye is facing trial before Uganda’s High Court on charges of treason and concealment of treason, commonly referred to as misprision of treason.

Besigye is jointly charged with his aide, Hajji Obeid Lutale, and the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) officer, Captain Denis Oola, also known as Denis Oola Ooya.

The three have denied the allegations.

The prosecution alleges that between 2023 and 2024, they participated in meetings in Uganda, Kenya, Greece and Switzerland as part of a plan to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni’s government by force of arms.

Kenyan cities Nairobi and Kisumu have featured in the prosecution’s case, with evidence presented in court linking alleged meetings and activities to the two cities.

The Kenya connection has emerged as the prosecution presents audio and video recordings it says were secretly captured during meetings involving Besigye and his associates.

The court on Thursday heard that the Ugandan government spent 59.32 million shillings to have some of the recordings transcribed into written evidence.

The money was paid to Makerere University’s Centre for Languages and Communication Services at a rate of 70,000 Ugandan shillings per minute.

The recordings, lasting two hours, 29 minutes and three seconds, were contained on a flash disk submitted by Uganda’s Criminal Investigations Directorate.

The disclosure was made by the prosecution’s second witness, Medadi Ssentanda, a senior lecturer at Makerere University and coordinator at the centre.

Ssentanda told Justice Emmanuel Baguma that the CID requested the transcription on September 5, 2025.

The recordings were allegedly made by the prosecution’s first witness, Andrew Wilson, alias Orlando, a British-American security investigator who told the court he was working for the Ugandan government when he secretly recorded meetings involving Besigye.

Wilson concluded his testimony this week after several weeks on the witness stand.

His evidence has focused heavily on meetings allegedly held in Nairobi, Athens and Geneva, which the prosecution says were part of a wider plot to overthrow the Ugandan government.

A Nairobi meeting held on November 16, 2024, has featured prominently in the proceedings.

Wilson told the court that he was involved in an intelligence-led operation surrounding the meeting and that two guns and what was described as counterfeit money found at the Riverside Apartments had been deliberately placed there.

The witness said the operation involved Kenyan police.

Asked about his reference to Kenyan police and a gun at Riverside Theatre, Wilson told the court: “I assume it was the Kenyan police that organized the logistics for the meeting in Nairobi, my lord.”

The Nairobi evidence has also come under sustained scrutiny during cross-examination.

Wilson admitted that his initial police statement did not mention either Lutale or Captain Oola, despite both later being charged alongside Besigye.

Kisumu has separately featured in the prosecution’s allegations, with the State claiming that discussions involving Besigye and his associates included plans to establish a training camp in the Kenyan city.

According to the prosecution’s account, the alleged discussions involved training opposition supporters in paramilitary skills and acquiring weapons and other resources.

Wilson has also presented a collection of devices he says he used to secretly record the meetings.

They include cameras concealed in items such as a wall charger, USB charger, power bank and necklace, as well as other audio-recording equipment.

The prosecution alleges that Besigye, Lutale and Captain Oola participated in meetings in Uganda and abroad as part of a plan to raise funds, acquire weapons and organise activities aimed at overthrowing the government.

Treason is a capital offence in Uganda and carries a maximum sentence of death upon conviction.