When Winnie Byanyima entered the intensive care unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital on Monday, she said she barely recognized the man lying in the hospital bed.
Dr. Kizza Besigye, Uganda’s four-time presidential candidate and one of the country’s longest-serving opposition figures, was unconscious and under heavy security after collapsing in the High Court during proceedings in his treason trial.
“This is not the man I left,” Byanyima said after visiting her husband, her voice breaking with emotion.
Besigye, 70, collapsed on July 29 after objecting to being represented by lawyers appointed by the court in the absence of members of his preferred legal team.
According to people in the courtroom, Besigye became increasingly distressed as he argued that the proceedings were unlawful. Moments before collapsing, witnesses said, he cried out that he was being hurt before losing consciousness.
Security officers rushed him to Mbuya Military Hospital before transferring him to Mulago National Referral Hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
The public first learned about the seriousness of his condition through a statement issued by Byanyima, who also serves as Executive Director of UNAIDS.
She said Besigye was unconscious, unable to speak and unresponsive even to painful stimuli. The family, she said, wanted him transferred to another medical facility where he could be treated by doctors they trusted.
Among those seeking access to him was his sister, trauma surgeon Dr. Olive Kobusingye. According to the family, she was initially denied entry before later being allowed into the ICU, which remained under tight security.
Byanyima said the case extended beyond her husband’s illness, arguing that every Ugandan is entitled to timely medical care and the protection of constitutional rights regardless of political affiliation.
“If Kizza’s rights can be ignored, then the rights of every Ugandan are at risk,” she said. Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, known as Bobi Wine, also called for what he described as a fair hearing before an impartial court.
Besigye has been in custody since November 2024 after he and co-accused Hajj Obeid Lutale were arrested in Nairobi and returned to Uganda to face treason charges.
His detention has been marked by repeated concerns over his health. In January, Byanyima accused prison authorities of failing to provide adequate medical care. In February, Besigye was hospitalized after a hunger strike protesting his detention. In April, Byanyima again warned that his condition was deteriorating.
His latest hospitalization has renewed scrutiny of his treatment while in custody. Social media has been awash with claims about what caused Besigye’s collapse, but none has been independently verified.
Court records show that shortly before collapsing, Besigye had asked the court to first determine an application challenging the appointment of state-funded lawyers, arguing that it affected his constitutional right to legal representation.
On Tuesday, High Court Judge Emmanuel Baguma directed Prisons Commissioner General Dr. Johnson Byabashaija to work with Mulago National Referral Hospital to obtain a comprehensive medical report on Besigye’s condition before the trial resumes.
The judge adjourned the case until Aug. 18, saying the court would rely on the medical assessment to determine whether Besigye is fit to stand trial.
Besigye, Lutale and Capt. Denis Oola are charged with treason over allegations that they conspired to overthrow the government through meetings held in Uganda and abroad. Prosecutors allege they sought funding, weapons and military training to advance the plot. All three have denied the charges.
For Byanyima and Besigye’s supporters, the legal battle has, for now, given way to a more immediate concern: whether one of Uganda’s best-known opposition leaders will recover well enough to return to court.
