MERCENARY FOR HIRE? State Mzungu Witness Andrew Orlando Wilson Was Reportedly Paid $3m to Fake Evidence Against Besigye — Winnie Byanyima Claims

For months, Andrew Orlando Wilson has remained an elusive figure in one of Uganda’s most politically charged criminal trials — a British security consultant whom prosecutors portray as an undercover operative who helped expose an alleged plot to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni’s government.

To Dr. Kizza Besigye’s supporters, however, he is something entirely different.

This week, Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS and Besigye’s wife, dramatically escalated the battle over Wilson’s credibility, accusing him of being a “mercenary for hire” allegedly paid millions of dollars to fabricate evidence against the veteran opposition leader.

In a series of posts on X, Byanyima claimed she had received information from sources alleging that Wilson had been contracted to orchestrate a case against her husband.

“We have learnt from our sources that Andrew Orlando Wilson (@artfulgypzy) was contracted for US$3 million to carry out a pretext mission to frame Dr Kizza Besigye and secure his conviction on treason charges.”

She went further, arguing that if the information proves true, it would reveal a far more sinister role than that of an ordinary prosecution witness.

“If this information is true, Andrew Orlando Wilson is a mercenary for hire, doing the dirty work of authoritarian regimes by helping criminalise political opponents.”

The allegation has not been independently verified, and Byanyima did not publicly provide evidence to support the claim of a US$3 million payment.

Still, her remarks have intensified scrutiny of the foreign national whose testimony has become one of the pillars of the State’s case against Besigye.

According to court documents, prosecutors describe Wilson as a British former soldier turned private investigator and security consultant. They allege that in 2021 he was approached by Switzerland-based Ugandan Joel Wakayima, who sought assistance in acquiring military training and weapons for individuals allegedly intending to overthrow the Ugandan government.

Rather than accepting the proposal, prosecutors say Wilson alerted Ugandan military intelligence and subsequently worked as an undercover source. Investigators allege that he secretly recorded conversations and attended meetings involving individuals they suspected were linked to the alleged conspiracy.

Those meetings, prosecutors say, later expanded to include opposition figures in several European cities, including Geneva and Brussels. It is through those interactions that the State contends Wilson gathered evidence it now intends to rely on in court.

Besigye and his co-accused have denied all the allegations and insist the prosecution is politically motivated.

As the trial has unfolded, Wilson has become one of its most controversial figures.

The prosecution has listed him among its key witnesses alongside senior military officials. Defence lawyers, meanwhile, have repeatedly questioned his credibility, his methods and the extent of his involvement in the investigation, arguing that his evidence deserves rigorous scrutiny before it can be relied upon by the court.

The public dispute between Wilson and Byanyima has also grown increasingly personal.

Earlier this month, Wilson publicly criticised Byanyima over her campaign for Besigye’s release, prompting fresh criticism from opposition supporters who accused him of attempting to undermine both her credibility and that of Besigye’s defence.

Now Byanyima has responded with her most forceful accusations yet.

“I have never met him, but I have researched him. His role will be exposed.”

She suggested that Wilson’s professional history should itself become the subject of public examination.

“Andrew Orlando Wilson presents himself as a British former soldier who has built an international career as a private investigator and security consultant. Serious questions will be asked about the clients he has worked for.”

Her warning was direct.

“Orlando, be warned. Uganda’s human rights and pro-democracy movement is ready for you. Your contractors will leave you high and dry.”

Whether those accusations have any evidential basis is likely to remain outside the scope of the criminal proceedings unless raised formally before the court. For now, they remain allegations made by Besigye’s wife and have not been substantiated publicly.

The treason case itself has become one of the most closely watched political prosecutions in Uganda in recent years.

Prosecutors accuse Besigye, Hajj Obeid Lutale and UPDF officer Capt. Denis Oola of participating in a conspiracy to overthrow the government. Court filings allege that the accused held meetings in Uganda and several foreign countries, discussed military training, sought weapons and explored ways of removing the government by force.

The accused deny the charges.

Besigye’s lawyers have consistently maintained that the prosecution is politically motivated and have rejected the State’s narrative. They argue that the evidence presented by investigators, including that expected from Wilson, should be carefully tested through cross-examination.

That process now assumes even greater significance.

Wilson is no longer merely a witness expected to testify about meetings and recordings. Following Byanyima’s latest intervention, he has himself become part of the story.

Her accusations seek to cast doubt on the integrity of one of the prosecution’s central witnesses before his testimony is fully tested in court. The prosecution, on the other hand, continues to portray Wilson as a whistleblower who alerted authorities to what they describe as a genuine conspiracy against the State.

Ultimately, those competing narratives will not be settled on social media.

They will be tested in the courtroom, where prosecutors must prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and where the defence will have the opportunity to challenge every aspect of Wilson’s evidence, his conduct and his credibility.

Until then, Andrew Orlando Wilson remains one of the most mysterious figures in Uganda’s biggest political trial — praised by the prosecution as the man who helped expose an alleged plot against the State, and denounced by Besigye’s supporters as a foreign operative whose motives they believe deserve as much scrutiny as the evidence he is expected to present.

It should be remembered that reports have claimed that the state Mzungu witness has destroyed the evidence in audio recordings. See Details Here and There.