Prisons Tells Off FDC Officials on Besigye Visit

The Uganda Prisons Service has asked Dr.Kizza Besigye’s associates to drop claims of restrictions on his prison life.
On Friday, Kampala deputy Lord Mayor, Doreen Nyanjura said on visiting Dr.Besigye, they took him some food items but said prison authorities stopped Dr.Besigye from eating them.
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“Dr Kizza Besigye has been given two choices, to either eat prison food or starve. All the food items we carried for him were rejected, we were told that Posho, milk, millet flour, honey, cooking oil, rice, blue band etc are sold at the prison canteen. Dr said he won't eat their canteen food, he doesn't trust it, he remarked and said probably he will starve to death and die before the date set by Muhoozi,” Nyanjura said in a post on X.
However, responding to the allegations, Prisons spokesperson, Frank Baine slammed the claims as outrageous.
“When somebody says something out of the blue that doesn’t have any idea, I find it outrageous. It is not true we can deny food to Dr.Kizza Besigye or any other prisoner.When you come to prison you don’t become an expert. We are the experts . Let us do our work because we are not doing it for the first time,” Baine said.
He explained that the Prison Act stipulates that Prison authorities will provide wholesome quality, well prepared and served food to all prisoners, noting that it is foolhardy for anyone to try to direct them on what to do.
“The act doesn’t provide for relatives, friends and political allies to carry food to prisons. Standing orders say one may carry food to prisoners and when we have tried to bend the law to adjust, then somebody starts insinuating. This becomes funny and uncalled for.”
The prisons spokesperson, said when is allowed to bring food stuffs for prisoners, there are conditions they must adhere to and in case of violation, the officer in charge of that particular prison is allowed to stop the food.
“It is officer in charge to prescribe and not prisoner’s visitor whether the food is allowed or not. We are operating according to what guidelines give us. They( Beisgye’s associates) should know that management and politics are very different. Getting food from out is not a right but a privilege and officer in charge is allowed to adjust.”
“We are managing prisons as professionals and according to international standards. Whether it is Besigye or who, we look at them as prisoners. We shall continue doing that.”
Baine also slammed claims that government wants to kill Dr.Besigye from prison, saying the opposition leader has been in prison more than three times since 2005 and nothing bad has happened to him.
“When you circulate such information, we doubt your intensions. If your intention to visit is to distort facts, then there is no reason to again allow you.”
Arrested last year in Kenya together with his aide, Hajji Obeid Kamulegeya, Dr. Besigye was remanded to Luzira by the General Court Martial on charges related to unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition