UGANDA: Kizza Besigye Hospitalized As Health Rapidly Deteriorates In Prison
Long-time Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was rushed to hospital from Luzira Prison on Friday, August 28, after his health deteriorated, his wife, Winnie Byanyima, said.
Byanyima said Besigye was transferred after dark to the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) off Entebbe Road, about 10 kilometres from Kampala.
According to Byanyima, he has remained severely weak and unable to walk or speak properly since his hospitalisation in July.
“After dark, Dr Kizza Besigye was moved from Luzira Prison to JCRC hospital today. He is still very weak. He struggles to walk, speak, write or even hold anything steadily,” Byanyima said.
The 70-year-old former presidential candidate has experienced a prolonged deterioration in his health since collapsing during a court appearance in Kampala on July 29.
Besigye, who has been detained since November 2024, collapsed in the dock at the High Court while attending proceedings in his treason case.
He was taken by ambulance to the Intensive Care Unit at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
His family said he remained unconscious and unresponsive to pain stimuli for several days before his condition improved.
Besigye spent about 10 days at Mulago before being returned to Luzira Prison on August 7, where he is said to have staged another hunger strike.
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Byanyima said at the time that he remained severely weak and was unable to walk or speak properly.
His condition remained a concern after his return to prison.
The family has asked authorities to allow Besigye to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, for urgent medical care and to receive support from his family.
His family has also raised concerns over chronic complications affecting his lungs and spine, which they say have been worsened by prison conditions.
“He has been arrested more than 50 times. He has faced case after case. He has never run away from justice,” Byanyima said on Friday.
“Why drag a sick man from place to place? Why deny him the care of his family? Why force a trial on a man too ill to defend himself?” she added.
UGANDA: Kizza Besigye Hospitalized As Health Rapidly Deteriorates In Prison
