Winnie Byanyima, the wife of detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, has defended her decision to meet President William Ruto on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Byanyima faced criticism after she shared details of the meeting, with some Kenyans questioning why she would engage Ruto while her husband’s abduction in Nairobi remains unresolved.

Besigye disappeared in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, shortly after travelling to Kenya for a book launch. He resurfaced four days later in Kampala, where he was presented before Uganda’s General Court Martial alongside his political aide Haji Obeid Lutale.

At the time, Byanyima said her husband had been abducted in Nairobi and forcibly taken to Uganda, where he was held in military custody. Kenya’s government denied involvement and said it would investigate how Besigye was transferred across the border.

📌 What You Need to Know

The controversy resurfaced after Byanyima said she had met Ruto at UNGA and expressed support for his role as the African Union Champion for Local Manufacturing of Medical Products.

"Good to meet President William Ruto at #UNGA. I strongly support his work as the AU Champion for Local Manufacturing of Medical Products," Byanyima said, adding that she also raised Besigye’s continued detention with the Kenyan President.

She said she had raised the circumstances surrounding her husband’s arrest , arguing that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni could not distance himself from a case that resulted in his political opponent being taken from Kenya and prosecuted before a Ugandan military court.

The meeting, however, drew criticism from some Kenyans who questioned Byanyima’s decision to engage Ruto without first publicly resolving what role, if any, Kenyan security agencies played in Besigye’s transfer.

"Madam Winnie Byanyima, with respect, President William Ruto cannot be celebrated as AU Champion while violating AU principles," one critic wrote, arguing that the incident amounted to a breach of Kenya’s sovereignty.

The criticism intensified after recent testimony in Besigye’s ongoing treason case in Uganda. Andrew Wilson, a key prosecution witness, told the High Court in Kampala that two pistols and other evidence allegedly found at the Nairobi apartment had been planted by Kenyan police as part of an intelligence operation.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke