The wife of jailed Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has condemned as “cruel and inhumane” the ban on prisoners receiving visitors at Christmas.
Besigye, 68, is accused in a military court of possessing pistols and trying to buy weapons abroad, which he denies. His trial has been postponed until next month.
Prison authorities say that as part of measures to prevent “potential security breaches”, i.e.Friends will not be allowed visitors for seven days starting on Christmas Eve.
Besigye's wife Winnie Byanyima, head of the UN's HIV and AIDS organisation, said she plans to camp outside Luzira prison so she can see her husband and give him food on Christmas Day.
She told the BBC her husband remains “strong and stubborn” in a “tiny room” behind six prison doors, but she worries he could be “hurt”.
“I will not leave Besigye's food at the gate (as instructed). I will go there and see my husband because I do not trust them with him even for a day,” Mrs Byanyima said.
“Maybe I'll get a tent and sleep there … if that's what they want,” she added.
Besigye contested and lost four presidential elections against President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.
But the opposition veteran has been less active in politics in recent years and is not running in the 2021 election.
However, Besigye returned to the headlines last month after he was dramatically kidnapped during a visit to Kenya and forcibly taken to Uganda.
He was then charged along with his assistant Obaid Lutale. He also denied the allegations.
A military court extended Besigye's detention until January 7, dashing his family's hopes that he would return home for Christmas.
Uganda Prisons Services spokesman Frank Bain Mayanja told local media that the seven-day ban on visitors was aimed at beefing up security during the festive season and preventing escapes.
“Christmas brings excitement and the majority of prisoners don't want Christmas inside. They must be planning how to break out of the prison and get out,” Mr Mayanja told NTV Uganda.
Prison services had initially announced a nearly month-long ban on prison visits, but then reduced the ban to seven days.
Ms Byanyima told the BBC she was also concerned about the recent management change at Luzira prison, questioning why a “young and inexperienced” officer was put in charge.
“It's very suspicious and makes me question their intentions,” she said.
“I do not trust his (Besigye's) life to those who kidnapped him. I will endeavor to see him as often as I can,” Ms Byanyima added.
Mr Mayanja said the leadership changes were an “administrative matter” and had nothing to do with Besigye.
He added that Mrs Byanyima should trust the authorities to take care of her husband because “we have the means and the mechanism to keep him alive”.
“I think she should let us do our job,” Mr Mayanja said.
It is the second time Besigye, who has clashed with Museveni's government over the past two decades, has spent the Christmas holidays in jail.
In 2005 he was arrested while returning from a political rally before the 2006 presidential election and charged with treason. The charges were dismissed by the courts.
He is also accused of rape in a separate case. The charges were later dropped. He said all the charges were part of a campaign of political persecution
In the latter case, Besigye objected to being tried by a military court, saying he should be tried in a civilian court if there was any case against him.
Museveni defends the use of military courts to try civilians.
He said any crime involving weapons is tried in a military court to ensure the country's stability, as civilian courts take too long to deal with cases.
Hundreds of civilians have been tried in Uganda's military courts, although the Constitutional Court has ruled against the practice.
Opposition parties often complain about restrictions on political activities, claiming that Museveni is afraid of political competition.
Museveni's supporters deny the charge and say he has maintained stability during his nearly 40-year rule.