Kizza Besigye’s PFF withdraws from Uganda 2026 presidential race
By Kenneth Mwenda, September 16, 2025Uganda’s People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), led by veteran opposition leader Kizza Besigye, has announced it will not field a presidential candidate in the 2026 general election.
Instead, the party says it will back a joint candidate to challenge President Yoweri Museveni’s long rule.
The announcement was made in a statement shared on the party’s official Facebook account on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. In the post, the PFF accused the government of planning to use state security agencies to intimidate voters during the polls.
“The 2026 elections are nothing but a reign of military terror on right-minded Ugandans. Yesterday, our leadership held a press conference, and key to note were points around the upcoming 2026 military operation to keep the senile dictator in power and the illegal detention and countrywide abductions.”
Besigye and Museveni share a long and tense history. The two were once close allies during the bush war that brought Museveni to power in 1986. Besigye served as Museveni’s personal physician and later held positions in his government. However, by the late 1990s, he had turned into one of Museveni’s fiercest critics, accusing him of abandoning democratic reforms.
Besigye has since run against Museveni in four presidential elections, in 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016, all of which he lost in polls marred by claims of rigging and intimidation. Over the years, he has been arrested, detained and charged numerous times but has remained a central figure in Uganda’s opposition politics.
In their statement, the PFF said the party would not risk dividing the opposition vote in 2026.
“In the bid to counter the junta, the PFF shall not field a presidential candidate but will rally behind a joint presidential candidate who will run the FREEDOM CAMPAIGN to counter the military expedition.”
Besigye’s team to campaign
The party added that it had formed a 28-member National Campaign Team, headed by Besigye, that will tour the country spreading its message.
“We also set up a 28-member National Campaign Team led by our leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, and this team will traverse the country spreading the freedom message.”
The PFF also expressed concern over what it called lawlessness by security forces. It drew parallels to the style of former ruler Idi Amin and criticised the judiciary for failing to protect citizens.
“We are also deeply concerned about the lawlessness by the regime security agents who have since chosen the Amin methods of abducting Ugandans and the judiciary that is now an accomplice to such illegalities.”
One of the cases raised in the statement is that of Sam Mugumya, a long-time Besigye supporter, who the party says has been missing. They also condemned the detention of their members, including Besigye himself, Obeid Lutale, and others.
“The abduction of Sam Mugumya, who the security operatives claim is not in their custody, is an issue that should bother us as a country; the continued detention of our leader and Hajji Obeid, plus all other political prisoners, is a matter we must all rise up and detest in the strongest terms possible.”
Besigye’s withdrawal is expected to reshape Uganda’s opposition politics ahead of the 2026 elections. While he remains a powerful voice, the decision signals a shift towards building a unified opposition front against Museveni, who is seeking a seventh term after nearly 40 years in power.