Police authorities said they had mobilized and deployed dozens of anti-riot police ahead of a planned protest to call for the release of Uganda opposition leader Kizza Besigye.
The anti-riot team was positioned at among others the Ugandan embassy, residence, ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Nairobi and outside State House.
Water cannons were also seen parked at the sites in readiness for a clash.
There was confusion on if the protests will proceed as planned with some organizers claiming it has been pushed to Monday February 24.
Nairobi police commander George Sedah said they are ready to handle the protesters.
He did not indicate if the police will disperse the group planning the protests.
Human rights activists, lawyers and medical practitioners in East Africa called on the Ugandan government to release Besigye, who has spent the past three months in military detention.
The 12 organizations have called for people to join a march on Friday to the Ugandan embassy in Nairobi and the parliament building to present a petition for justice and the release of Besigye and those detained alongside him.
Besigye, who was abducted while on a trip to Kenya in November, was recently rushed to a hospital after going on a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.
The head of one of the groups, Khalid Hussein, said they condemn the militarization of justice and escalating government repression in Uganda.
“We call on Ugandan authorities to immediately release Kizza Besigye, Hajj Obeid Lutale, Eron Kiiza and others unlawfully detained,” he said.
“The abduction and rendition of Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale blatantly violated international human rights law and the principles of extradition treaties.”
A politician who ran against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in three elections, Besigye was abducted by unidentified men while on a visit to Kenya in November 2024 and taken to Luzira Maximum Security Prison in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
He appeared before a military court, where former Kenyan justice minister and lawyer Martha Karua defended him.
He is charged with treason, illegal possession of a firearm and threatening national security.
Last week, the 68-year-old fell ill and was taken to a hospital after going on a hunger strike to protest his arrest and the charges.
On January 31, the Ugandan Supreme Court ruled that the trial of civilians in a military court is unconstitutional and that such cases must be transferred to ordinary courts.
But the government rejected the ruling, saying such trials protect the country from criminals.
In a statement posted on X, Museveni called on those demanding the release of Besigye to instead demand a quick trial to establish the facts.
Otherwise, he said, such demands promote insecurity, which is dangerous for the country.
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