Detained Ugandan opposition veteran briefly hospitalised

Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye was briefly hospitalised after his health deteriorated following a hunger strike but was back in prison on Monday, his lawyer told AFP.

Besigye, 68, is a leading opponent of President Yoweri Museveni — in power for nearly 40 years — whom he has unsuccessfully challenged in four elections.

He was abducted in Kenya in November and has been facing the death penalty on treason charges in a court martial that his wife, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima, has called a “sham”.

Besigye’s lawyer Erias Lukwago said he “was brought under heavy security deployment to a private medical facility in Bugolobi (Kampala) last night and taken back to Luzira prison”.

Besigye was last seen in public on Friday during a court appearance where he appeared frail — a day after Lukwago told AFP he was “critically ill.”

Lukwago and opposition lawmaker Francis Twijukye said they were unclear about his current situation as they have “limited access to him”.

His wife told AFP on Sunday she was “very worried” about Besigye’s health.
On trial for “threatening national security”, Besigye went on hunger strike on February 10 to protest his detention.

“He’s not been eating, he’s only drinking water,” Byanyima said on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled last month that civilians should not be tried in military courts.

This was rejected by Museveni, but on Sunday, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the government will drop the military trial.

An army spokesperson had earlier said that “under no circumstances will Colonel Kizza Besigye be released until he faces the full extent of martial law”.

The UN and several rights organisations have voiced concern about the suppression of the opposition in Uganda in the run-up to presidential elections in 2026.