Kizza Besigye, 70, Admitted To ICU After Collapsing In Court — Wife Says He Is Unresponsive

Kizza Besigye, the veteran Ugandan opposition leader, has been admitted to the intensive care unit at Mulago Hospital in Kampala after collapsing during a court appearance, his wife and medical sources said.

Besigye, 70, is in custody and faces treason charges over an alleged plot against President Yoweri Museveni. According to his wife, Winnie Byanyima — Executive Director of UNAIDS — he is unconscious, unable to speak and unresponsive even to pain stimuli.

"He has been admitted to the ICU at Mulago Hospital (in Kampala). He is unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive even to a pain stimulus," Winnie Byanyima wrote on X.

A Mulago Hospital spokeswoman, Gladys Baligonzaki Kajura, confirmed the admission to AFP: "He is at the intensive care unit. He was admitted last evening and his condition is being managed," she said without providing further details. A separate medical source, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Besigye's state as critical and unresponsive after he was taken to hospital on Wednesday evening.

Court Collapse and Legal Context

Witnesses say Besigye collapsed during a court session after rejecting state-appointed lawyers — he had protested that his chosen legal representatives were being denied access. Prior to the collapse, one of his defence lawyers, former Kampala mayor Erias Lukwago, was arrested; the other, former Kenyan justice minister Martha Karua, was barred from entering Uganda.

Lukwago has since been charged with failing to report treason after being taken from his home by the army. The courts denied him bail again, citing the absence of a medical certificate demonstrating he cannot be treated in prison. Lukwago has warned his prolonged detention — he says he has chronic lung and spinal problems — is tantamount to "a death sentence."

Background

Besigye, who once served as President Museveni's personal physician, has been a prominent opposition figure for more than 25 years. He was abducted in neighbouring Kenya in 2024 and subsequently reappeared in Uganda, where he was initially brought before a military tribunal before the case was transferred to a civilian court.

Since his detention, Besigye has been hospitalised multiple times, including a brief admission in February 2025 following a hunger strike and on other occasions earlier this year. His wife has repeatedly criticised the conditions of his detention as inhumane and has alleged there may be a plot to harm or kill him.

This case unfolds amid a broader government crackdown that has targeted opposition figures, lawyers and independent media in recent months.