Detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who has been on a hunger strike for a week, has been returned to prison after spending a night in a health clinic, according to his supporters.
The 68-year-old was transported to a private medical facility in a prison ambulance due to a decline in his health, as reported by his lawyer Erias Lukwago on Facebook.
Besigye faces charges in a military court for illegal possession of a firearm, threats to national security, and treachery, which could result in the death penalty. He has denied all allegations.
The update on his health came shortly after a cabinet minister announced that he had visited Besigye in prison, encouraging him to resume eating and promising to transfer his case from military to civilian court.
The veteran politician has previously run for president against the long-standing leader Yoweri Museveni on four occasions and has been in custody since his dramatic abduction in Kenya last November, after which he was returned to Uganda for military trial.
Last month, the Supreme Court declared that trying civilians in military courts is unconstitutional.
Despite this ruling, the government maintained that Besigye’s military trial would proceed, with President Museveni labeling the court’s decision as “a wrong decision” and pledging to contest it.
On Sunday, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi stated that he had visited Besigye in prison “in the presence of his doctors” and urged him to end his hunger strike as the government expedited the transfer of his case to a civil court.
However, Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, expressed skepticism about the minister’s visit, stating, “As a government minister, you are not a concerned visitor – you are his captor.”
Ms. Byanyima, the director of the UN’s HIV/AIDS program, expressed on X, “We will hold you and your government fully accountable for any harm that comes to him.”
On Sunday evening, a lawmaker associated with the detained politician reported that Besigye had been taken to a clinic in a Kampala suburb under heavy security presence.
MP Francis Mwijukye noted that Besigye was “being pushed in a wheelchair.”
Wafula Oguttu, a former opposition leader and ally of Besigye, stated that prison officers at the clinic informed him they would return Besigye to jail after conducting a series of tests. He mentioned that he was not permitted to enter the clinic.
Harold Kaija, one of Besigye’s political aides, confirmed that he was back in prison. Besigye initiated a hunger strike a week ago to protest his ongoing military detention, with his trial still pending.
Once a close associate of Museveni, who has ruled since 1986, Besigye was also his personal physician. He has previously accused the government of political persecution. In recent years, he has been less active in politics and did not participate in the 2021 election.
Besigye appeared in court on Friday for a separate case, appearing frail. The Ugandan Medical Doctors’ Association has since called for his “immediate release” on health grounds.
