Besigye will be incarcerated while the Ugandan court postpones the case

Dr. Kizza Besigye, the injured opposition leader of Uganda, his assistant Obeid Lutale, and one of their attorneys will be held until later this month when the High Court in Kampala renders a verdict in a habeas corpus lawsuit that their attorneys filed.

Judge Douglas Karekona Singiza of the High Court stated on Wednesday that he will deliver his decision by February 25, 2025, at the latest, following the hearing of submissions.

In spite of Dr. Besigye’s attorneys’ requests for an interim order allowing the four-time presidential candidate to be released so he can seek better medical care outside of Luzira prison, where he has been held since November of last year, Dr. Singiza declared during proceedings, “Prison authorities should take back Col. Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale and remain with the lawyers and proceed with the habeas corpus application.”

The judge expressed his satisfaction that at least Dr. Besigye’s body had been brought before the court; the only issues now are those of his wrongful detention as a result of the government’s failure to follow a Supreme Court decision from January 31 that prohibited the General Court martial from trying civilians on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and ordered that files be sent right away to regular courts with the necessary authority.

Hours after the Uganda Law Society (ULS) protested the postponed hearing of Justice Douglas Karekona Singiza’s application in a protest note on Monday, Dr. Besigye was requesting his release from prison.

However, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, the president of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and Dr. Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima, characterized the judge’s orders and his ongoing arrest as political persecution just hours after the court’s ruling.

“Dr. Kizza Besigye and other political detainees are being persecuted by the dictatorship and the cadre judge in the name of prosecution. I simply urge Ugandans, both domestically and internationally, to keep up the pressure. We will not give up. We want Dr. Besigye alive, thus we offered the government 48 hours to free him. “They’re attempting to murder him,” Wine stated.

Byanyima expressed her disappointment that the court was unable to allow her husband to obtain appropriate medical care.

“I thought I would take him home today when I came here. I’m not surprised, but I’m devastated. Besigye is imprisoned. Like all of us, he was abducted and is currently in captivity. We are all in captive because of Museveni. “This cadre judge is a disgrace for sending my husband back to jail at a time when his health is rapidly declining,” she added.

According to reports, a protracted hunger strike is to blame for Dr. Besigye’s recent decline in health. He was brought to a private facility in Bugolobi on Sunday to undergo examinations. Later, he was returned to prison.