File photo. Kampala city centre, Uganda. Photo: Flöschen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.

UGANDA · POLITICS

Uganda says talks with jailed rival Kizza Besigye are continuing, but Besigye’s family and party deny that any bargaining is under way. General Salim Saleh, the president’s younger brother, is leading the contact, according to a government minister.

For US readers the outcome matters because Uganda is a security partner in East Africa and sends troops to Somalia. As of Thursday, 5 November 2026, no official programme for a wider national reconciliation process has been published.

In Plain English, Who Is Who

Kizza Besigye is a four-time presidential candidate and a former ally of President Yoweri Museveni. He has been on remand since his arrest in Nairobi in November 2024.

General Salim Saleh, whose full name is Caleb Akandwanaho, is Museveni’s younger brother and a senior presidential adviser. Norbert Mao is the justice minister, and Balaam Barugahara is the local government minister.

Erias Lukwago is a former lord mayor of Kampala, the capital’s elected head, who faces a charge of misprision of treason. That is the offence of failing to report a suspected plot against the state, and he has not been convicted.

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba is the chief of defence forces and Museveni’s son. On Tuesday, 25 August, he wrote on social media that Besigye would be handled by his uncle Saleh.

Talks With Jailed Rival: What Is Confirmed

On Tuesday, 20 October, Mao said Museveni had told officials to talk to everyone with a stake in the cases of Besigye and Lukwago. He said the political talks would run separately from the court cases and from medical treatment.

On Wednesday, 28 October, Barugahara told a rally in Rukungiri District that Saleh was leading talks to win Besigye’s release. Besigye’s family and political allies replied that they were not taking part in any bargaining.

On Friday, 30 October, Saleh told ruling-party legislators at Kapeeka that he had visited Besigye in custody and found him in a critical state. He said he then moved Besigye to the Joint Clinical Research Centre, a medical centre in the Kampala suburb of Lubowa.

On Monday, 2 November, Besigye’s family and officials of his People’s Front for Freedom party again dismissed reports of an approach by Saleh and Mao. No agreed text and no record of a meeting have been made public.

File photo. The Independence Monument park in central Kampala, Uganda, May 2015. Photo: Ruslik0, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Why Besigye Is in Custody

Besigye was arrested in Nairobi in November 2024 and has been held in Uganda since. Prosecutors allege that he, his aide Obeid Lutale and army captain Denis Oola held secret meetings abroad to plot the overthrow of the government.

All three deny the charge, and the treason trial continues at the High Court in Kampala. Besigye collapsed in court on Wednesday, 29 July 2026, and was taken away in an ambulance.

What Saleh Has Proposed

Saleh said on 30 October that he hoped the two sides could persuade each other within three to six months. He also urged legislators to consider a power-sharing model called consociational democracy, in which rival groups share power by agreement.

We covered that proposal in our report on Saleh’s power-sharing call. His account of the hospital move is in our report on what Saleh found in prison.

What It Means for You

Uganda is a US security partner and supplies troops to Somalia, so a political thaw or a new crackdown would be felt in Washington. Investors and travellers should expect slow, uncertain talks rather than a quick settlement.

Uganda held a general election in January 2026, and its best-known opposition figure is still in prison. The army also announced the arrest of retired general Peter Elwelu on Monday, 2 November, which shows how tense politics remain.

The army alleges subversion, but no charge has been made public and his family rejects the allegations, as our report on the Elwelu arrest explains. The two cases are separate, and nothing links them officially.

What Is Not Known

No official text, agenda or list of participants has been published for any wider national reconciliation process. Nobody has said whether Besigye himself is taking part in the talks.

It is unknown whether the contact could lead to Besigye’s release, and his treason trial continues in court. Saleh’s window of three to six months is a hope, not a deadline set by the government.

More: Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Kizza Besigye?

Kizza Besigye is a four-time presidential candidate and a former ally of President Museveni. He has been held on remand since November 2024 and is on trial for treason, which he denies.

Are the talks with Besigye confirmed?

Ministers and Saleh himself have confirmed contact with Besigye. His family and party deny that any bargaining for his release is taking place.

Who is Salim Saleh?

Salim Saleh is President Museveni’s younger brother and a senior presidential adviser. He holds the rank of general and is the uncle of army chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Has Uganda announced a national reconciliation process?

Not in any official text that has been published. Ministers have spoken of consultations and dialogue, but no agenda, participant list or timetable is public.

Sources: Justice Minister Norbert Mao, statement on consultations, 20 October 2026; Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara, remarks at Rukungiri, 28 October 2026; General Salim Saleh, remarks to legislators at Kapeeka, 30 October 2026; Statements by Besigye’s family and the People’s Front for Freedom, 2 November 2026; Uganda Judiciary, treason case file, retrieved 5 November 2026; Parliament of Uganda, retrieved 5 November 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error