Prominent Ugandan opposition leader, Dr. Kizza Besigye, has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala after collapsing during his treason trial on Wednesday, his wife, Winnie Byanyima, announced on Thursday.
Byanyima, who is also the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said in a post on X that the 70-year-old politician is unconscious and in critical condition.
“He is unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive even to a pain stimulus,” she wrote.
Besigye collapsed while appearing before a court in the Ugandan capital, where he is facing treason charges. He was immediately taken from the courtroom in an ambulance to the national referral hospital.
Government spokesperson Alan Kasujja did not respond to requests for comment on the incident.
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He has remained in detention since November 2024 after he and his aide, Obeid Lutale, were arrested in neighbouring Kenya and returned to Uganda, where they were both charged with treason.
His lawyers, supporters and human rights groups have consistently described the charges as politically motivated, alleging that his prolonged detention forms part of a broader crackdown on opposition figures under President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
Besigye, a longtime critic of Museveni, has contested several presidential elections against the veteran leader. His latest detention has drawn concern from rights advocates both within Uganda and internationally.
Reuters
