Ugandan opposition figure Besigye appears in court again
Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye appeared briefly in a civilian court on Wednesday as attorneys tried to secure his freedom, but a judge said he was too unwell to follow proceedings, AP reported.
A visibly frail Besigye, who has been detained since November, was driven back to a maximum-security prison in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.
Besigye’s continued detention is attracting more attention as his supporters, activists and others warn that he needs medical care and should be removed from prison conditions. They say any harm to him while in custody could trigger deadly unrest in this east African country.
His family says he has begun a hunger strike to protest his continued detention after Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled last month that military tribunals cannot try civilians.
Besigye’s attorneys say he and others who faced charges before the court-martial should have been released immediately. Justice officials say they are studying the evidence against Besigye in order to charge him in a civilian court.
Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, is a prominent opposition figure in Uganda. For years he was the most serious challenger to President Yoweri Museveni, who has held power since 1986, before the recent rise of the opposition figure known as Bobi Wine.
Besigye went missing in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Nov. 16. Days later, he appeared before a military tribunal in Kampala, charged with offences concerning a threat to national security.
He was later charged before the same tribunal with treachery, an offence under military law that carries the death penalty.
International organisations have been calling for his release. President Museveni suggested that the authorities were unlikely to free Besigye without putting him on trial, saying in a statement that his rival must answer for “the very serious offences he is alleged to have been planning.”
Museveni rejected calls by some for forgiveness and instead urged “a quick trial so that facts come out.”
Military prosecutors accuse Besigye of soliciting weapons in meetings in Europe with the purpose of undermining national security.
Besigye’s wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, says her husband is being framed, while his attorney says the charges are politically motivated.
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