Veteran Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye is lying unconscious in an intensive care unit in Kampala after collapsing during his treason trial on Wednesday, his wife Winnie Byanyima has said.
Byanyima, who heads the United Nations agency tackling HIV and Aids, wrote on X early Thursday that the 70 year old is unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive even to a pain stimulus. The update on Kizza Besigye’s health came hours after he collapsed inside the High Court in Kampala.
Court witnesses said the four time presidential candidate had been objecting to the appointment of state lawyers to represent him. He collapsed during proceedings before High Court judge Emmanuel Baguma after protesting the court’s decision requiring him to be represented by court-appointed lawyers Sylvia Namawejje, Julius Sserwambala and Sarah Awelo.
According to Byanyima’s account, cited by Reuters, Besigye repeatedly shouted “stop” about his legal representation before collapsing. She added that he cried out that he was being injured, and that his sister, Dr Olive Kobusingye, was in court but was not allowed to attend to him.
Prison guards rushed Besigye out of the courtroom. Reporting from The Observer indicates he was transferred to Mulago at about 8:20pm under heavy security after initially being taken to Mbuya Military Hospital. Byanyima had earlier demanded, in a separate statement carried by ChimpReports, that authorities allow Besigye to receive treatment from his personal physician at a private clinic in Bugolobi rather than at a government health facility.
Concerns over Kizza Besigye’s health did not begin this week. Byanyima has raised repeated alarms since his detention began, describing conditions at Luzira Maximum Security Prison as harsh and accusing officials of restricting his access to his own doctor. Human rights groups and opposition supporters have increasingly linked concerns over Kizza Besigye’s health to the conditions of his detention and the delays surrounding his trial.
The Uganda Prisons Service, through spokesperson Frank Baine, had previously pushed back on such claims, insisting Besigye was medically stable following a routine check up in January.
By Thursday, that reassurance sat uneasily against Byanyima’s latest description of her husband’s state. She said he was unconscious and unable to respond after being admitted to the ICU at Mulago Hospital. The Observer reported that only Besigye’s sister, Dr Hope Kobusingye, who is also his personal physician, was eventually granted access to him in the ICU after initially being denied access while he was still at court.
Besigye has been in detention since November 2024. His arrest followed a dramatic episode in neighbouring Kenya, where he and his aide Obeid Lutale were arrested and returned to Uganda, where they were charged with treason. Both men deny the charges, which their lawyers and political allies have long described as politically motivated.
The trial itself has drawn scrutiny well beyond this week’s collapse. Besigye’s lead lawyer was arrested last month on allegations of failing to report acts of treason, a development his supporters point to as evidence of a broader campaign against him.
President Yoweri Museveni, 81, has led Uganda for close to four decades, and Besigye has stood against him in four presidential elections without success. Legal observers say developments surrounding Kizza Besigye’s health could intensify scrutiny of the case both within Uganda and among international rights organisations.
No government official had issued an official comment on Besigye’s condition by early Thursday. The Washington Post noted that Judiciary spokesperson Ereemye Mawanda could not immediately be reached, and Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson Frank Baine also did not respond to requests for comment on the latest development affecting Kizza Besigye’s health.
The ICU wing where Besigye is being treated is under heavy guard. According to MyJoyOnline’s report of Byanyima’s statement, the ICU wing where Besigye is being treated is guarded by heavily armed security officers, a detail that has fuelled further criticism from his family over restricted access to him.
Besigye’s son, Ampa, has also appealed directly to President Museveni over his father’s condition. The Eastleigh Voice reported that Ampa said his appeal was not political but a plea from a son concerned about his father’s condition, asking the two leaders to consider Besigye’s age, declining health and the humanitarian concerns surrounding his continued detention.
Byanyima’s public statements have consistently tied Kizza Besigye’s health to what she calls a pattern of denial by the state, including denial of bail, denial of his preferred lawyers and denial of consistent access to his personal doctor. She has repeatedly called those conditions unjust given his age and the fact that he has not been convicted of any offence.
Questions about Kizza Besigye’s health have now become central to public debate, with supporters demanding greater transparency about his treatment and medical care.
For now, Besigye remains in the ICU at Mulago National Referral Hospital, with his family pressing for independent medical access and clarity on his prognosis. Updates on Kizza Besigye’s health are expected as the situation develops through Thursday.
