Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been directed by High Court Judge Douglas Singiza to return to prison, despite his ongoing hunger strike.
Besigye appeared at the High Court alongside Obeid Lutale for their habeas corpus hearing. Judge Singiza also allowed their legal team to continue with the petition.
“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,” he ordered.
However, President Yoweri Museveni dismissed the hunger strike as blackmail, accusing Besigye of using it to gain public sympathy and secure bail.
“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 posed.
Besigye’s wife, who visited him in prison, expressed concern over his Worsening health, describing him as weak and dizzy. She condemned the prison conditions, calling for his immediate release.
“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 said on X.
Besigye, arrested in November 2024, faces charges of illegal possession of a firearm. His trial is expected to proceed in the coming weeks.