Veteran Ugandan opposition leader collapses in court and in ICU, his wife says

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) in the capital, Kampala, after collapsing and losing consciousness during his treason trial, his wife has said.

The 70-year-old has been in detention since November 2024. His lead lawyer was arrested last month and charged with allegedly failing to report acts of treason.

The visibly frail politician was objecting to state lawyers being appointed to represent him when he fell, prompting prison guards to rush him to hospital.

“He is unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive even to a pain stimulus,” his wife, Winnie Byanyima, who heads the UN’s agency tackling HIV and Aids (UNAids), wrote on X.

Besigye, who has run for president against long-serving leader Yoweri Museveni four times, was dramatically abducted in Kenya in 2024 and taken back to Uganda.

He has since been held along with his aide, Obeid Lutale, and both have been charged with treason, which they deny.