Ugandan Opposition Leader Kizza Besigye Hospitalised in ICU after Court Collapse

Sun Sep 06 2026 02:15:15 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Kizza Besigye, a veteran opposition figure, was admitted to ICU in Kampala after losing consciousness during a treason trial, sparking calls for his release on medical grounds.

Veteran opposition politician Kizza Besigye, 70, collapsed and became unconscious during a High Court hearing in Kampala over treason charges. He was rushed to Mulago National Referral Hospital and placed in intensive care. Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, and other family members demanded that he receive treatment from his personal physician rather than government staff. His legal representation has been stripped, with his lead lawyer detained and his other lawyer barred from entering Uganda. Human rights organisations and opposition leaders have called for his immediate release on humanitarian grounds amid fears of a possible death sentence if convicted. The incident highlights the continued repression faced by political opposition in Uganda.

Kizza Besigye, a veteran opposition figure in Uganda, was admitted to the intensive‑care unit of Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala after collapsing in court during a treason trial. The 70‑year‑old politician, who has campaigned against President Yoweri Museveni in four presidential elections, was rendered unconscious and unable to respond to pain when he shouted repeatedly that he was being harmed by the state lawyers overseeing his case. According to his wife, Winnie Byanyima, head of the United Nations Agency for Global AIDS, this incident prompted a swift transfer to the hospital, although he has refused treatment from government medical staff, insisting on care from his personal doctor, his sister Olive Kobusingye.

Besigye has been denied the call of any government personnel, reportedly using a heavily armed security team to guard the ICU ward. His lawyer, Erias Lukwago, is now in detention after being seized by the army last month, while his other lead lawyer, Kenyan political icon Martha Karua, was barred from entering Uganda after arriving to defend him.

The collapse came after witnesses said Besigye repeatedly shouted "stop" and claimed he was being hurt before it became apparent that he was in a medical emergency. He was first taken to the courthouse and then to Mulago Hospital, where he remains in an unconscious state, unable to communicate. His wife has urged the government to allow his personal physician to attend to him, and has called for his release on humanitarian grounds.

The case is part of a broader crackdown on opposition figures: Besigye, along with his aide Obeid Lutale, are charged with treason, an offense that carries the death penalty in Uganda. The Attorney General’s office alleges they plotted to overthrow President Museveni’s government, a claim that Besigye and his associates deny. Their detention since November 2024 has triggered repeated appeals from family members, opposition parties and human rights groups for medical‑basis release.

This is not the first time Besigye has needed medical care; in February 2025 he was taken to a private clinic during a hunger strike. Earlier this year, he had a brief stay in hospital after a medical flare‑up. The treatment denial and conditions, together with his recent collapse, have drawn condemnation from political observers who describe his presence in court as a "shocking violation of his most basic rights."

Besigye, who once served as the late president’s personal doctor before splitting ranks in 1999, has not contested the 2021 election, but remains a prominent figure in Uganda’s political landscape. His son, Adam Ampa, has written an open letter to President Museveni and army chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, urging them to consider mercy for his father and to release him on humanitarian grounds.