Uganda opposition leader Besigye 'very weak' and unable to speak: wife

Besigye, 70, a long-time rival of President Yoweri Museveni, has been in jail since late 2024 when he was kidnapped in Kenya and smuggled back to Uganda.

Besigye was admitted to an intensive care unit in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, after collapsing during a court hearing on July 30.

He collapsed moments after lashing out at the court's decision to appoint lawyers to represent him. His lead defence lawyer, Erik Lukwago, was arrested, while former Kenyan justice minister Martha Karua, another member of his legal team, was barred from entering Uganda.

"My first impression was shock," Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, told reporters outside Mulago Hospital in Kampala, where her husband is admitted.

"He looks very weak. He remained asleep for a long time. When he could open his eyes, he still cannot talk," she said.

"He is not able to write. I tried to ask him to write a note to me. But his hands are not stable."

Until Monday, Besigye was being fed using intravenous lines, which were removed and he was able to take soup, according to Byanyima.

"So today, there was a sense of progress," she said.

She demanded that Besigye's rights to life, proper medical care and a fair trial be respected, saying they were being "ignored".

"I'm not asking for favours. I'm not asking anyone to bend the law. I'm simply asking that the Constitution of Uganda is respected and is applied, fairly and equally to Dr Kizza Besigye," she said.

"That is his right as it is for every other Ugandan."

Besigye was a doctor to Museveni during their time fighting as insurgents in the 1980s, but they later fell out and he ran multiple times for the presidency, often facing severe repression.