KAMPALA, Uganda – Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has been admitted to an intensive care unit after collapsing during a court appearance where he is standing trial on treason charges, according to his wife.
Okay News reports that the 70-year-old politician collapsed on Wednesday while appearing before a court in Kampala. He was taken from the courtroom in an ambulance and later transferred to the intensive care unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
In a post on X, Winnie Byanyima, who is also the Executive Director of UNAIDS, said her husband was unconscious, unable to speak and unresponsive even to painful stimuli. Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasujja did not immediately comment on his condition.
Besigye has remained in custody since November 2024, when he and his aide, Obeid Lutale, were arrested in neighbouring Kenya before being returned to Uganda to face treason charges. His legal team, supporters and human rights groups have consistently argued that the case is politically motivated and forms part of a broader crackdown on opposition figures.
The case comes amid continued political tensions in Uganda following the country’s last presidential election, in which President Yoweri Museveni, now 81, was declared the winner. The outcome was rejected by opposition candidate Bobi Wine, who later went into exile in the United States.
