Veteran Ugandan opposition leader collapses in court and in ICU, his wife says

Veteran Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye collapsed during a Wednesday hearing at the High Court in Kampala, according to witnesses who said he repeatedly shouted “stop” concerning his legal practice before falling ill. His wife, Winnie Byanyima, posted online that before the collapse he cried out, “He was being injured,” and noted that his sister, Olive Kobusingye—a doctor—was present in the courtroom but barred from attending to him. Besigye was subsequently transferred to Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda’s largest national facility, where he refused treatment from state medical personnel. “He will not let any authority official to interact with him,” Byanyima said. She demanded that he be allowed to receive care from his personal doctor in a private setting rather than at a government health facility. Reports indicate that the ICU where Besigye is being treated is guarded by heavily equipped security officers, and that his sister, who also serves as his personal doctor, has now been permitted to see him. Besigye’s lead counsel, Erias Lukwago, remains in detention after being seized by security services the previous month. His other lawyer, Kenyan Martha Karua, was barred from entering Uganda when she flew in to represent him last month. Besigye’s son, Adam Ampa, has appealed to President Yoweri Museveni and the president’s son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba—Uganda’s army chief—to show mercy and release his father on humanitarian grounds. In an open letter shared on social media on Wednesday, Ampa wrote, “Regardless of politics, no son should have to witness his father endure such a government portion lasting before the precise instrumentality he served and dedicated his life.” Opposition figure Bobi Wine, who fled the country fearing for his safety after contesting the January presidential election, described Besigye’s condition in court while clearly unwell as a “shocking usurpation of his most basic rights.” Besigye previously served as Museveni’s personal doctor before breaking ranks with him in 1999. In recent years he has been less active in politics and did not stand in the 2021 election.