Ugandan opposition figure Besigye collapses in the dock during treason trial

Ugandan opposition leader and four-time presidential candidate Kizza Besigye, second left centre, arrives in a civilian court in Kampala, Uganda on Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Hajarah Nalwadda) 2026-07-29T13:47:20Z Kampala, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye appeared to collapse in court on Wednesday during a trial in which he is facing treason charges . Besigye, 69, who has been detained without bail for several months, shouted the word “stop” many times before he fell backward in the dock. The court proceedings were postponed as prison guards moved to attend to the high-profile defendant. Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, has been repeatedly denied bail. His main attorney, Erias Lukwago, has also been arrested and charged with alleged failure to report acts of treason. In recent days, prosecutors have moved to present evidence they say will prove Besigye and others plotted to overthrow the government of President Yoweri Museveni . Besigye’s wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, and others say he is in failing health and they have been trying to focus international attention on the case. Those urging for Besigye’s release on compassionate grounds say he needs to consult with a doctor of his choice and not the government-appointed medics available at the maximum-security facility where he is held. While Besigye’s situation “is critical,” he doesn’t have access to the physician of his choice, his People’s Front for Freedom party said in a statement. “No prison doctors are present (in) court,” it said. Besigye, once Uganda’s most prominent opposition figure, last contested the presidency in 2016, afterward saying that elections were a waste of time in a country with an authoritarian leader who depends more on the armed forces. Besigye went missing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in November 2024 but was later presented before a military tribunal in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, to face charges related to threatening national security. The case was transferred to civilian court and amended as treason, which carries the death penalty. (