Kizza Besigye refuses food as Uganda defies court ruling on military trials for civilians.
Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has begun a hunger strike while facing trial in a military tribunal, his wife Winnie Byanyima revealed. His detention comes despite a Supreme Court ruling banning the prosecution of civilians in military courts.
The Museveni government has dismissed the court ruling, vowing to continue trying civilians in military courts. Besigye, a longtime critic of President Museveni, was arrested in Kenya in November in what officials described as an abduction, later charged in Uganda with treachery and illegal possession of firearms—charges that could lead to the death penalty.
Byanyima, who heads UNAIDS, condemned the trial as politically motivated. “They think they can break his spirit, but they underestimate his resolve,” she wrote on X.
Uganda’s prisons spokesperson denied Besigye’s hunger strike, claiming he is “OK.” But rights groups accuse Museveni’s government of systematic human rights violations, including torture and arbitrary detentions—claims Kampala has consistently denied.
Besigye, once Museveni’s personal doctor, has run against him in four elections, rejecting all results as fraudulent. His detention and military trial underscore Uganda’s deepening crackdown on dissent ahead of the next elections.
