KAMPALA, Uganda – Veteran Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has been rushed to a medical facility after his health deteriorated following a hunger strike he began last week, an allied lawmaker and local media have reported.
Besigye, a long-time critic of President Yoweri Museveni, has been in detention at a maximum-security prison in Kampala since November.
His lawyers say he was abducted in neighboring Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda, where he now faces military court charges, including illegal weapons possession.
Francis Mwijukye, a lawmaker allied with Besigye, said on Sunday night that he had been moved under heavy security to a clinic at Bugolobi Village Mall in Kampala.
“He was being pushed in a wheelchair,” Mwijukye posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Amidst Very heavy security deployment, Dr. Besigye has been brought to a clinic at Bugolobi village Mall. The Clinic is called The Clinic on the 3rd floor of the Mall. He was being pushed in a wheel chair.
Uganda’s NTV broadcaster also reported that Besigye had been taken to the clinic, citing a family member who described his condition as “bad.”
His hospitalization comes amid mounting public outrage over his detention and trial in a military court.
Over the weekend, prominent Ugandans, including opposition leader Bobi Wine and the Uganda Medical Association, took to social media to demand his release and unhindered medical access.
Concerns over Besigye’s health intensified after he appeared frail in court on Friday, struggling to walk and visibly dehydrated.
His lawyers had previously warned that his condition was deteriorating in prison.
Uganda’s Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi said Sunday that the government was working to transfer Besigye’s case to a civilian court, in line with a recent Supreme Court ruling that deemed the prosecution of civilians in military courts unconstitutional.
Besigye, a former personal physician to Museveni, has been a persistent challenger of his decades-long rule, facing repeated arrests and political persecution.
His latest detention and subsequent hunger strike have reignited concerns over human rights and political freedoms in Uganda.
