Kizza Besigye, an opposition politician who is ill, has been ordered to return to prison by Ugandan Judge Douglas Singiza.
“This order is administrative in nature. I am unable to continue with a prisoner who is ill. He could pass out… Kizza Besigye is returned by prison officials, and we proceed with the attorneys,” he commanded.
After Besigye and Obeid Lutale appeared at the High Court’s Civil Division for their habeas corpus hearing, the directive was issued.
Additionally, Judge Singiza ordered Besigye’s attorneys to remain and continue with the Habeas Corpus plea.
For the past week, the opposition politician has been on a hunger strike.
In a statement released on Tuesday, his wife claimed that she discovered Besigye weak, lightheaded, and significantly lighter after being permitted to visit him.
Seeing her husband in such a “humiliating” state is painful, she said.
She called the prison cells a place where terrorists are held and demanded Besigye’s immediate release.
*Because he has not eaten in five days, Besigye is weak, has lost a concerning amount of weight, and feels lightheaded. This is kidnapping, not merely unlawful detention. I am furious and insist that he be released right away by (President) Kaguta Museveni and his son, the army chief. Like them, he is a citizen with rights!” Winnie said on X
Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, would later refer to Besigye’s hunger strike as blackmail.
He continued by saying that the opposition politician did this merely to gain public sympathy and obtain bail.
“A hunger strike was in effect for Dr. Besigye. According to the images in the newspapers, that is one of the reasons for his weakness. Is not that blackmail without principles? How can you be charged with major crimes and then use a hunger strike to garner support for obtaining bail, etc?” Museveni posed.
The president of Uganda urged Ugandans to pay closer attention to the reasons behind Besigye’s arrest.
He claimed that the opposition politician was detained for plans he had made and that Besigye could request a speedy trial to end his problems.
Besigye was arrested in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, while he was there to attend Martha Karua’s book launch.
Besigye and Hajj Lutale were charged with illegal firearm possession and appeared before a Kampala military court four days later on November 20.
They were placed under remand at Luzira Maximum Security Prison after entering a not guilty plea.
The military court decided in January 2025 that Besigye could face a betrayal trial.
The Ugandan Supreme Court declared on January 31, 2025, that civilians could not be tried in military courts because it was unconstitutional.
Besigye started a hunger strike on February 11 and was admitted to the hospital a few days later.
By Kenyans