Opposition politician and retired Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mulago National Referral Hospital after collapsing during court proceedings on Wednesday. Sources close to family members caring for him said his condition remained worrying as of Friday evening.
However, neither the hospital nor prison authorities have issued an official update on his health. Frank Baine, the Senior Commissioner of Prisons and spokesperson for the Uganda Prisons Service, declined to comment when contacted. Besigye remains under heavy security at the hospital.
On Friday evening, leaders of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) were prevented from visiting Besigye after they arrived at Mulago Hospital. The delegation included Deputy Secretary General Harold Kaija, Kampala Deputy Lord Mayor Doreen Nyanjura, and the party’s Head of Mobilisation, Ingrid Turinawe.
According to Nyanjura, Dr. John Ssekabira, the Deputy Executive Director of Mulago National Referral Hospital, informed them that hospital policy does not permit visits to patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
She, however, questioned the heavy security deployment around Besigye. “But why should a critically ill, unconscious man in an intensive care unit be subjected to a show of force?
This excessive display of guns inside a sacred place of healing is both absurd and deeply inhumane,” Nyanjura said. Besigye’s condition deteriorated after he collapsed in the dock during a court session on Wednesday.
The incident followed his protest against the commencement of his trial without lawyers of his own choosing. He told the court that although legal representation had been appointed for him, he had not been given sufficient time to consult the lawyers.
He requested a one-week adjournment to prepare his defence, but the court rejected the request and directed the prosecution to proceed. Besigye has been in detention since November last year, when he was arrested in Kenya and returned to Uganda to face treason charges. He is jointly charged with Hajj Obeid Lutale and Captain Denis Oola-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
