A visibly frail Besigye, Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who has been detained since November, appeared briefly in a civilian court Wednesday as attorneys tried to secure his freedom, but a judge said he was too unwell to follow proceedings.
He was driven back to a maximum-security prison in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.
Besigye went missing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 16 November last year, and days later appeared in a cage before a military tribunal in Kampala.
Besigye was charged with offences concerning a threat to national security and later charged before the same tribunal with treason, an offence which under military law carries the death penalty.
His family says he began a hunger strike to protest against his continued detention after Uganda’s Supreme Court last month ruled that military tribunals can not try civilians.
Besigye’s attorneys say he and others who faced charges before the military court should have been released immediately.
“The justice of the case required that today there should be remedy, there should be a decision and it should be instant. Unfortunately, that is not the case,” said Erias Lukwago.
“And to make matters worse, we have not been given any idea or clue as to when the decision will be given,” he said.
Justice officials say they are studying the evidence against Besigye in order to charge him in a civilian court.
Besigye’s wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, says her husband is being framed and is deeply concerned about his continued detention.
“I am devastated. But I am not surprised. Besigye is a captive. He was kidnapped. He is in captivity as we all are. (President Yoweri) Museveni has put all of us in captivity,” she said.
His attorney says the charges are politically motivated.
Africanews/Shakirat Sadiq
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