Detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye collapsed during a court hearing in Kampala on Wednesday while standing trial on treason charges, according to a senior official from his political party.
Besigye, 70, has remained in custody since November 2024, when he and his aide, Obeid Lutale, were detained in neighbouring Kenya and returned to Uganda. Both men were later charged with treason and have denied the allegations.
Their lawyers and officials from Besigye’s People’s Front for Freedom have described the case as politically motivated. Several applications for Besigye’s release on bail have been rejected.
“He was standing and suddenly collapsed,” senior party official Harold Kaija said. “An ambulance arrived after some time and took him away, but we do not know where he was taken.”
Uganda Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine did not respond to a request for comment. Judiciary spokesperson Ereemye Mawanda said he did not yet have enough information to comment on the incident.
Besigye’s prolonged detention has drawn criticism from Ugandan and international human rights groups, while the Commonwealth has called for his release.
Opponents of President Yoweri Museveni, 81, say Besigye’s case reflects a broader crackdown on political rivals, activists and government critics.
Bobi Wine, the leader of Uganda’s largest opposition party and Museveni’s principal challenger in the country’s most recent election, has since fled to the United States.
Concerns about Besigye’s health have grown during his detention. He was briefly admitted to hospital in February after launching a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.
In April, his wife, Winnie Byanyima, told Amnesty International that his health was deteriorating.
Besigye has also demanded the restoration of his full legal team. His lead lawyer, Kenyan politician Martha Karua, was declared persona non grata by Ugandan authorities, while another senior defence lawyer, Erias Lukwago, was detained and charged with misprision of treason. Lukwago remains in custody.