KAMPALA — Fresh details surrounding the dramatic collapse of veteran opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye in court have emerged, with his spouse, Winnie Byanyima, saying he cried out that he was being injured shortly before he lost consciousness.
Byanyima, who has repeatedly raised concerns about her husband’s health and treatment in detention, is now demanding answers over what happened to Besigye inside the courtroom.
“Something happened to Dr Kizza Besigye today… Before he collapsed, he cried out that he was being injured,” Byanyima said.
She added that Besigye’s sister and personal doctor Olive Kobusingye, was present in court but was not permitted to attend to him.
“His sister, Dr Kobusingye, was in court but was not allowed to attend to him,” Byanyima said.
“What happened to KB?” she asked, using Besigye’s commonly used initials.
Byanyima then pointed directly at President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, saying they would eventually have to account for what happened to the veteran opposition figure.
“One day, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba will have to answer that question,” she said.
Besigye collapses during court proceedings
Besigye collapsed on Wednesday, July 29, during proceedings at the High Court in Kampala, where he was appearing in a treason case.
The incident brought proceedings to a dramatic halt as prison officers and others moved to assist him before he was taken away from the courtroom by ambulance.
According to reports from the courtroom, Besigye had been protesting the continuation of proceedings amid a dispute over his legal representation. The proceedings were subsequently disrupted by his collapse.
His health situation later became even more concerning.
Byanyima said Besigye was taken to Mulago National Referral Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
In a separate statement, she said he was unconscious, unable to speak and not responding even to pain stimulus. She also repeated that he had cried out that he was being injured before collapsing.
The development has intensified concerns over the condition of the 70-year-old opposition politician, who has spent months in detention.
Spouse demands answers
Byanyima’s latest statement places the circumstances immediately preceding Besigye’s collapse at the centre of the growing controversy.
Her account raises questions about what happened to Besigye inside the courtroom, particularly his claim that he was being injured and his sister, Dr Olive Kobusingye, was not allowed to attend to him.
At the time of publication, there had been no official explanation establishing what Besigye meant when he said he was being injured or what caused his subsequent collapse.
Neither Uganda Prisons Service nor judiciary officials had immediately provided a detailed public account of the events surrounding the collapse.
Besigye’s health has been a growing concern
The latest incident comes after months of concerns over Besigye’s deteriorating health while in detention.
The opposition leader was previously hospitalised after a hunger strike, while Byanyima has repeatedly demanded that he receive medical care from doctors of his choice rather than relying solely on government medical personnel.
Before his latest collapse, Byanyima had also demanded that Besigye be taken to his personal doctor, saying the doctor had examined him in prison and considered further medical care necessary.
The question of access to his preferred medical team has therefore become intertwined with the wider dispute over his detention and ongoing trial.
Treason case and legal team crisis
Besigye has been in custody since November 2024 after he was arrested in Kenya alongside his aide, Obeid Lutale, and subsequently returned to Uganda.
The two men deny the treason allegations against them.
His court battle has also been complicated by the disruption of his preferred legal team. Kenyan lawyer Martha Karua, who had been part of his defence, was declared persona non grata in Uganda, while Erias Lukwago, another prominent member of his legal team and President of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), is also in custody facing separate charges.
Besigye has objected to proceeding with the trial under circumstances in which his preferred lawyers are unavailable.
His collapse therefore came at a particularly tense moment in the proceedings, with the opposition leader already protesting what he regarded as an unacceptable trial process.
Byanyima: ‘What happened to KB?’
For Byanyima, however, the immediate concern is no longer only the legal battle.
She wants an explanation of what happened to her spouse in the moments before he collapsed.
“Something happened to Dr Kizza Besigye today,” she said.
“Before he collapsed, he cried out that he was being injured.”
Her statement that Besigye’s sister was in the courtroom but could not be allowed to attend to him has added another layer to the controversy surrounding his treatment after the incident.
And her final question — “What happened to KB?” — is likely to remain at the centre of demands for an explanation as Besigye continues receiving medical care.
Byanyima has framed the incident not simply as a medical emergency, but as an event for which she believes accountability must eventually be established.
“One day, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba will have to answer that question,” she said.
As Besigye remains under medical care, the circumstances surrounding his collapse, his reported cry that he was being injured and the events that immediately preceded his loss of consciousness are now likely to face increased scrutiny.
You can read about what happened in court before Besigye collapsed, as well as the latest update on his health condition Here and There.
