Prominent Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye collapsed during a court session in Kampala on Wednesday as his treason trial continued, according to a senior official of his party.
Harold Kaija, a senior official of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), said Besigye suddenly fell while standing in court before an ambulance arrived to take him away. His condition and whereabouts were not immediately known.
“Besigye collapsed… he was just standing and he suddenly collapsed. After some time an ambulance came and they took him away but we don’t know where he has been taken,” Kaija told Reuters.
Uganda Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine did not respond to requests for comment, while judiciary spokesperson Ereemye Mawanda said he could not provide information because he had not been briefed on the matter, authorities are yet to comment on the incident.
Besigye, 70, has been in detention since November 2024 after he and his aide, Obeid Lutale, were arrested in neighbouring Kenya and returned to Uganda, where they were charged with treason. Both men have denied the allegations, insisting the charges are politically motivated. Several applications for bail have also been rejected.
His prolonged detention has drawn criticism from local and international human rights organisations, with the Commonwealth among those calling for his release.
Critics of President Yoweri Museveni’s administration argue that Besigye’s continued detention reflects a wider crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices in Uganda. Museveni, 81, has ruled the East African nation since 1986.
Besigye’s health has been a growing concern in recent months. In February, he was briefly hospitalised after embarking on a hunger strike to protest his detention. His wife, Winnie Byanyima, later told Amnesty International in April that his health had deteriorated.
The opposition leader has also accused the government of undermining his defence after his lead counsel, Kenyan lawyer Martha Karua, was declared persona non grata. Another member of his legal team, Erias Lukwago, was later arrested and charged with misprision of treason and remains in custody.
