Bobi Wine claims that Besigye collapsed on Monday morning

Opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, often known as Bobi Wine, claimed that Kizza Besigye, a detained opposition member from Uganda who went on a hunger strike last week, passed out on Monday.

Besigye has been a longtime political rival and adversary of President Museveni. His indictment by a military court and his nearly three-month jail sentence have fueled public resentment of the government and sparked protests across the nation.

Pop singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who ran against Museveni for president in the most recent 2021 election, has warned that Besigye looked near death when he visited him in prison early Monday after his brief hospitalization on Sunday, adding to the growing calls for his release.

After leaving the prison, Bobi Wine told reporters, “This man is actually dying, Dr. Besigye is in a terrible state, he cannot leave his bed.”

“He collapsed this morning when they were trying to carry him out of his bed,” he continued.

Besigye was forcibly returned to Uganda after being “kidnapped” in November while traveling to neighboring Kenya. There, he was prosecuted in a military court with a number of offenses, including unlawful possession of weapons.

“Amidst very heavy security deployment, Dr. Besigye was brought to a clinic at Bugolobi Village Mall,” Besigye’s ally, Francis Mwijukye, said late Sunday on X, referring to a retail complex in the Bugolobi area of Kampala.

“He was being pushed in a wheelchair,” he continued.

According to sources, he was sent back to prison.

“The government is working on transferring his case from the military court to a civilian one,” said Chris Baryomunsi, the minister of information, writing on X on Sunday.

Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled last month that it is unlawful for civilians to be tried in military courts.

Besigye was taken to court on Friday and looked noticeably weak, having trouble walking and moving his tongue to moisten his lips.

During his Monday appearance on NBS Television, Baryomunsi stated that Besigye was brought to the clinic for standard medical examinations.

“Because he is not taking food usually you get what they call electrolyte imbalance…so it wasn’t that he had gotten worse, but they were just going to carry out routine medical checks in the clinic,” he explained.

“Deteriorating human rights”

The 80-year-old Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986, is anticipated to run for reelection the following year.

Under his leadership, Uganda’s human rights record has gotten worse, according to Human Rights Watch and other international watchdogs.