Opposition politician Kizza Besigye has been ordered back to prison by Ugandan High Court Judge Douglas Singiza, despite his deteriorating health due to a prolonged hunger strike. Besigye, who has refused to eat for over five days, appeared visibly weak and frail at the High Court’s Civil Division on Tuesday, where he was attending a habeas corpus hearing alongside fellow detainee Obeid Lutale.
The court session, meant to determine the legality of Besigye’s continued detention, took a dramatic turn when Judge Singiza issued an administrative order sending him back to Luzira Maximum Security Prison.
“This is an administrative order. If a prisoner is sick, I can’t continue with him. He might faint… Prison authorities take back Kizza Besigye, we continue with the lawyers,” Singiza directed.
Besigye’s wife, Winnie, expressed outrage at the ruling, describing her husband’s detention as both illegal and inhumane. She noted that after visiting him, she found him dizzy, severely weakened, and alarmingly thin.
“Besigye is weak, has lost alarming weight, and is dizzy he hasn’t eaten in 5 days. This is not just illegal detention, it is kidnapping. I am outraged and demand that (President) Kaguta Museveni and his son, the army chief, release him immediately. He is a citizen with rights just like them!” Winnie wrote on social media platform X.
However, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni dismissed Besigye’s hunger strike as a form of blackmail aimed at securing sympathy and bail. He criticized the opposition figure for resorting to such extreme measures instead of addressing the charges leveled against him.
“Dr. Besigye was on hunger strike. That is part of the cause for his weakness that we could see in the pictures that were in the newspapers. Is that not unprincipled blackmail? How can you be accused of serious crimes and, then, your response is a hunger strike to generate sympathy for getting bail, etc.?” Museveni questioned.
Besigye was arrested on November 16, 2024, in Nairobi while attending the book launch of Kenyan politician Martha Karua. Four days later, he and Hajj Lutale appeared before a military court in Kampala, facing charges of possession of an illegal firearm. The two pleaded not guilty and were remanded to Luzira Prison. In January 2025, the military court ruled that Besigye could be tried for treachery, but the Supreme Court later deemed the trial of civilians in military courts unconstitutional.
As of February 2025, Besigye remains incarcerated, with his legal team continuing to push for his release. The hunger strike has further intensified calls from opposition figures and human rights activists for his immediate freedom.
