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 in New York, amid criticism from Kenyans over the encounter.

Byanyima, who also serves as UNAIDS Executive Director, said her engagement with Ruto was part of her global health work and should not be seen as abandoning her calls for justice for her husband, who was abducted in Nairobi in November 2024 and later taken to Uganda.

“I hear and respect the strong feelings about my partner Kizza Besigye,” Byanyima said in a statement posted on X.

“I am at work, meeting governments, business and other leaders to end AIDS and Ebola, prevent future pandemics and advance Africa’s health sovereignty. There is no leader whose hand I will not shake in pursuit of that work.”

She said she continues to maintain that Besigye was abducted by Ugandan security officials and remains detained in Uganda.

“I have evidence that KB was abducted by four Ugandan security officials. He remains a prisoner in Uganda. I continue to call on President Kaguta Museveni Museveni and his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba to end his persecution and free KB and all political prisoners,” she said.

Byanyima also acknowledged the questions being raised in Kenya over her husband’s disappearance from Nairobi.

“Kenyans are right to demand answers about whether their security agencies played any role in his abduction. Their democracy gives them that right,” she said.

Besigye disappeared in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, before later appearing before a military court in Kampala. Amnesty International reported that he was abducted in Nairobi and subsequently detained in Uganda.

Despite the controversy surrounding the meeting, Byanyima said she would continue her work with leaders across Africa and beyond.

“We Ugandans continue our struggle for freedom and democracy,” she concluded.

                                                    APERIT FM, HII NI YETU