Ugandan Opposition Leader Charged After Being ‘Kidnapped’ in Kenya

A prominent Ugandan opposition figure who disappeared last week while in neighboring Kenya surfaced on Wednesday in a military court back home, where he was charged with security-related offenses, his wife and Ugandan officials said — the latest case to raise alarm amid a widening opposition crackdown in both East African nations.

Kizza Besigye, a former presidential candidate in Uganda, was “kidnapped” on Saturday while visiting the capital, Nairobi, for a book launch by a Kenyan politician, his wife, Winnie Byanyima, said on social media early on Wednesday. Ms. Byanyima did not elaborate on how Mr. Besigye was abducted or by whom. But she said he was remanded to a military jail in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, and did not have access to his family or lawyers.

“He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” said Ms. Byanyima, who is the executive director of U.N.AIDS, the United Nations program on H.I.V. and AIDS. She did not respond immediately to an attempt to reach her by email.

Hours later, Mr. Besigye, surrounded by security officers and holding his fingers in a V-sign, appeared at a military court in Kampala, according to footage broadcast on public and private television stations. He and an associate — Haji Obeid Lutale — were remanded to prison pending trial on charges including unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, according to a charge sheet seen by The New York Times.

Authorities alleged that Mr. Besigye, Mr. Lutale and others still at large have, over the past year, held meetings in Switzerland, Greece and Kenya “aimed at soliciting for logistical support and identifying military targets in Uganda with intent to prejudice the security of the Defense Forces.”

Both Mr. Besigye and Mr. Lutale denied the charges.