Frail Besigye brought to court

Besigye Gasping for Breath as he Appears in Court

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye has today appeared before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court, with URN noticing that he appeared weaker than he has ever been in all the cases he has battled in the recent past.

Besigye who seems to be struggling to breath and appears to be panting as if he has been running a grueling race, is in the dock with his mouth open and is unable to keep standing continuously.

Immediately when he entered the court which is being presided over by Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko, Besigye who always stands for long amidst lengthy court proceedings, today appeared in Court and sat immediately before he could even be told or allowed to sit or before his lawyers asked permission for him to sit.

Usually whenever Besigye arrives in court, he raises up his two fingers to greet his supporters when he reaches court. But despite the hundreds of his supporters in court, Besigye didn’t wave or say anything to them.

He is guarded by 10 prison security officers while he is in the dock.

Besigye’s eyes also appear teary and yellowish. He also appears to be shaking like a person who is either hungry or with fever or both. Our reporter can’t immediately verify the cause of his weak looking condition.

At the moment, the lawyers led by Erias Lukwago are asking Buganda Road Court to order for his unconditional release , despite the fact that he is supposed to be on bail on inciting violence  charges that have brought him before Court today.

The lawyers are also  seeking a stay of proceedings to first deal with human rights issues in the alternative.

According to Lukwago, Besigye is in prison but he was granted bail on charges of protesting the skyrocketing prices of commodities in the country.

Lukwago noted that  there were charges against Besigye before the General Court Martial which were terminated by the Supreme Court in its land Mark decision of January 31st 2025 which he believes that the Court has taken Judicial notice of, as well as the Prosecutors.

Lukwago said that no person can be on remand without a valid Court order or remand warrant like Besigye is at the moment.

He has argued that a person whose liberty is curtailed shall be informed of the reasons as to why he is in prison inline with the constitutional proceedings.

Court has heard that the other right that has been violated is the right to be accessed by his lawyers, next of kin and personal doctor.

Lukwago said Besigye is sick and that they visited him in Luzira but was found sick and that even Prisons can confirm that he is sick.

He has further told Court that today  is a day for Valentine’s Day for people in love to share pleasantries, but the wife of Besigye, Winnie Byanyima has been in the country alone and lonely . He said it’s a day for families to show affection and reunite and therefore Besigye should be released from prison to go and enjoy with his loved ones.

Also, Lukwago has asked Court to impose sanctions on the Commissioner General of Prisons and all the prisons officer who have brought Besigye in court  for keeping him  in prison in total violation of his nonderogable rights.

The Prosecution’s Allan Mucunguzi is making submissions in response to Lukwago’s application for the release and is basically saying that the reason Besigye is in prison is not related to proceedings before the Court today.

Besigye is jointly charged with Samuel Lubega Mukaaku for protesting against the skyrocketing prices for day to day commodities such as bread, cooking oil, sugar , among others in a protest held in Shauriyako Kampala Central on June 2022.

The Prosecution led by Allan Mucunguzi has so far presented five witnesses in the case who are all police officers  and was today  expected to present their last witness today. The witness who is from Masaka is also a police officer although on Monday, he didn’t turn up forcing Besigye’s lawyers to ask the prosecutors to close their case.

On that day, Besigye was also not present in Court because he was indisposed. As a result, the Court issued a production warrant directing Prisons to bring Besigye without fail today to ascertain the truth after the lawyers led by Erias Lukwago said they were not sure whether their client had written a letter that was brought to court showing that he had written indicating that he is indisposed.

Although Besigye is out on bail on these charges of inciting violence, he remains in  prison on charges of treachery and illegal possession of ammunition and firearms stemming from the General Court Martial which has since been barred by the Supreme Court from trying Civilians and capital offenses, except for disciplinary related offenses committed by the UPDF soldiers.

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URN