Detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye appeared in court on Tuesday, looking visibly frail and unwell. His thin frame, sunken cheeks, and hollow eyes painted a picture of a man who has endured days without proper nutrition. His bony shoulders slumped as he entered the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Court, where his hearing was set to take place.
Besigye, a long-time critic of President Yoweri Museveni’s regime, has been in detention since November 2024. He was abducted in Nairobi before being charged with illegal possession of firearms and treachery offenses that carry the death penalty. Despite a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the trial of civilians in military courts, Besigye remains remanded, facing a court-martial.
His defense team, led by lawyer Erias Lukwago, argued against proceeding with the hearing. Lukwago emphasized that Besigye’s deteriorating health made it inhumane to continue with the court session. “If we proceed, it will amount to a violation of his fundamental human rights,” Lukwago stated.
The state, however, has remained adamant about keeping him in detention, with President Museveni reaffirming that civilians would continue to be prosecuted in military courts, despite the judiciary’s stance on the matter.
On Tuesday, Besigye was also set to appear before a civilian court over a 2022 case in which he was accused of leading an unlawful demonstration. However, citing health concerns, he was unable to attend.
Adding to concerns about his well-being, his wife, Winnie Byanyima, revealed that Besigye had begun a hunger strike in protest of his detention. “Kizza Besigye is on hunger strike, detained illegally by a regime that fears his defiance more than it respects the law,” Byanyima wrote on X (formerly Twitter). She added, “They think they can break his spirit, but they underestimate his resolve. He will not yield while the regime tramples on justice.”
However, Ugandan prison authorities have denied reports of the hunger strike. Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine told Reuters, “Besigye is OK and he is not on a hunger strike.”
Besigye’s detention and the continued defiance of court rulings by the government have raised concerns over Uganda’s judicial independence and human rights record. As the opposition leader remains behind bars, questions linger over the legitimacy of his charges and whether justice will ultimately prevail.
