On October 30, Ugandan opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, joined human rights defenders and former political prisoners at Washington's Lincoln Memorial. The gathering, titled Roll Call for Freedom, was organised by the October 30 Coalition, Freedom House, and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The event aimed to bring international attention to cases involving prominent members of Uganda's opposition who are currently detained.
At the event, Bobi Wine read out the names of several Ugandans he described as detained comrades. These included opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, National Unity Platform (NUP) member Doreen Kaija, and the party's deputy spokesperson, Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro. Dr Besigye has been in custody since November 2024, after being arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, and taken to Uganda. He faces treason-related charges alongside his aide, Obeid Lutale, and Captain Denis Oola.
The event was held to coincide with the International Day of Political Prisoners, which is observed on October 30. The day has its origins in 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 Uganda's borders to cases that have remained central to the country's political debate.
The gathering 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 event was held at the Lincoln Memorial, one of Washington's most recognisable public landmarks.
Bobi Wine also highlighted the case of Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro, the NUP deputy spokesperson, who has been detained in connection with charges brought against him by Ugandan authorities. 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. However, opposition leaders and human rights advocates 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. Bobi Wine's participation in the event was seen as a way to extend assistance to the families of detainees and to call on people in countries where fundamental freedoms are protected to support efforts seeking the rights and release of political detainees.
Key points
- Bobi Wine joins human rights defenders at Washington's Lincoln Memorial to call for the release of detained Ugandans.
- The event aimed to bring international attention to cases involving prominent members of Uganda's opposition who are currently detained.
- Dr Kizza Besigye has been in custody since November 2024, facing treason-related charges alongside his aide and Captain Denis Oola.
