Dr. Kizza Besigye. (Credit: Web image).

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was rushed to a private clinic in Kampala on Sunday after becoming ill following a week-long hunger strike, his lawyer said.

Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwango, also a member of Besigye’s legal team, wrote on X on Sunday “more prayers for Dr. Besigye currently at a private medical facility in Bugoloobi where he was rushed in an ambulance after his health condition deteriorated.”

Prior to his hospitalization, the association of Ugandan doctors called on the government to provide a medical report on Dr. Besigye’s health and transfer him from prison for specialized care.

Dr. Besigye, who was arrested in November 2024 and remanded to Luzira Maximum Security Prison in Kampala, went on hunger strike on February 10 over his continuous detention and trial at a military court martial.

This is despite a ruling by the country’s Supreme Court that the immediate cessation of prosecution of civilians in General Court Martial and transfer to ordinary courts with competent jurisdiction.

Dr. Besigye was detained and forcefully returned to Uganda – while on a visit to Kenya to attend the launch of a book by opposition politician Martha Karua – in an incident that sparked fear and widespread condemnation.

The leader of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and his associate had been on trial for the charges of treachery, unlawful possession of ammunition and a firearm.

On February 10, Daily Monitor newspaper reported that Besigye refused to meet his lawyers to protest his detention even after the court ruling in January 2025 that the trial of civilians in military courts is illegal.

Besigye has contested and lost four presidential elections against President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.

He has been less active in politics recently, and did not contest the 2021 election until 2024, when Besigye formed the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) after breaking away from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).