Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye in intensive care: wife
Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been hospitalized in intensive care after collapsing during his treason trial. His wife and supporters claim he was injured while in custody, amid ongoing political tensions and accusations of a politically motivated prosecution.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the volatile political climate in Uganda and raises international concerns regarding the treatment of opposition figures under the Museveni administration.
Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been hospitalized and is unconscious after he collapsed during a courtroom session of his treason trial, according to his wife and others who are urging authorities to set him free after repeated bail denials.
Besigye fell in the dock on Wednesday while protesting his trial without lawyers of his own choosing, after authorities detained his main attorney, Erias Lukwago, and charged him with alleged failure to report acts of treason.
Besigye's wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, said in a post on X that Besigye is unconscious in an intensive care unit at a public hospital in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. "Before he collapsed, he cried out that he was being injured," she said.
Ingrid Turinawe, a close confidant of Besigye, told The Associated Press that she and others were not allowed to see Besigye at the Mulago Hospital.
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