Veteran Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was admitted to the intensive care unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital on Wednesday after collapsing during a treason trial hearing, his wife Winnie Byanyima said.
Besigye, 70, a four-time presidential challenger to President Yoweri Museveni, collapsed in the dock at Kampala’s High Court while objecting to the court’s decision to appoint lawyers to represent him.
His protest came after members of his defense team were unable to continue with the case. His lead lawyer, Erias Lukwago, is in custody facing charges linked to alleged failure to report acts of treason.
Witnesses said Besigye repeatedly interrupted proceedings before Judge Emmanuel Baguma, arguing that the trial was unlawful, before collapsing. Byanyima said in a social media post that her husband complained of being injured shortly before he lost consciousness.
He was taken by ambulance to Mbuya Military Hospital before being transferred to Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda’s largest public medical facility, where he was admitted under heavy security, Byanyima said.
She described his condition as critical, saying he was unconscious, unable to speak and unresponsive to pain stimuli. She said Besigye had declined treatment from government medical staff and requested care from his personal physician at a private clinic.
His sister, Dr. Olive Kobusingye, who is also his personal doctor, was initially denied access to him but was later allowed to enter the intensive care unit, according to Byanyima. The unit remained under the watch of armed security personnel.
Besigye has been in custody since November 2024, when he and his aide Obeid Lutale were arrested in Kenya and returned to Uganda. The two men were first charged before a military tribunal before their case was moved to a civilian court, where the charges were amended to treason.
Treason carries the death penalty in Uganda. Besigye and Lutale deny the charges, while their lawyers and supporters have described the case as politically motivated.
A former physician and military officer who served alongside Museveni during the 1980s guerrilla war that brought the president to power, Besigye later became one of his strongest political opponents. He challenged Museveni in four presidential elections.
