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🔴 Claim

On February 23, Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS and wife of Dr Kizza Besigye, addressed worshippers at Lubaga Cathedral and said:

[…] I was called here yesterday by the Archbishop, His Grace Paul Ssemogerere, and he told me that he had received a call from President Museveni asking him to cancel the mass. He pleaded with him not to cancel the mass and explained to him that this is Catholic tradition. He explained to him that we were married here, myself and my husband, in this church […]

🔴 Background

Ms Byanyima’s husband was abducted along with his aide, Obeid Lutale, in Nairobi in November 2024 and brought back to Kampala. Both men have since been held on what the state describes as treason charges, which they deny. They first appeared in a military court and have unsuccessfully applied for bail. Ms Byanyima had organised mass for her husband and other political prisoners. She said the mass was cancelled on the orders of President Museveni, who directed His Grace Paul Ssemogerere not to conduct it.

🔴 What OJ-UGANDA checked

• Where the couple got married: Lubaga Cathedral or some other church?
• When they got married

🔴 What we found

• Two high-profile Ugandan weddings took place in 1999: Kabaka Ronald Mutebi’s wedding in August 1999 and Dr Besigye’s wedding in July 1999.
• Dr Besigye-Winnie Byanyima wedding was held not at Lubaga Cathedral but at the Lourdel House Chapel in Nsambya on a Thursday.

🔴 Verdict

❌ False

🔴 Conclusion

• The claim that Winnie Byanyima and Kizza Besigye “were married here” (at Lubaga Cathedral) is false.
• Available contemporaneous reporting from July 1999 shows that the couple’s Catholic wedding took place at the Lourdel House Chapel, not at Lubaga Cathedral. The ceremony was held on July 8, 1999, in a small, private service in Nsambya, according to New Vision.
• Consequently, Ms Byanyima’s statement at Lubaga Cathedral on February 23 appears to conflate being married in the Catholic Church with being married at that specific cathedral. There is no evidence that the wedding occurred at Lubaga.

🔴 Why this matters

• What public figures say—even seemingly small utterances such as a wedding venue—is essential for public trust, especially when claims are made in a charged political context involving Yoweri Museveni, Kizza Besigye and Winnie Byanyima. Establishing what is demonstrably true helps prevent misinformation from hardening into accepted history.

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• OJ Fact Checks

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🔴 We fact-check claims, speeches and trending topics with cold, hard evidence. If it is misleading and fact-checkable, we will bring it to your attention. Remember: We started this website to serve as a source of credible information, a trusted alternative to social media noise. We are the fruit and veg of discerning information consumers. Do not read junk.