Lawyer Erias Lukwago, representing opposition strongman Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused Obed Lutale, has expressed grave concern over the deteriorating health of the four-time presidential candidate. He accuses the High Court of failing to intervene after prison authorities confirmed that Besigye is too ill to appear in court. Lukwago spoke to journalists outside the […]
Lawyer Erias Lukwago, representing opposition strongman Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused Obed Lutale, has expressed grave concern over the deteriorating health of the four-time presidential candidate.
He accuses the High Court of failing to intervene after prison authorities confirmed that Besigye is too ill to appear in court.
Lukwago spoke to journalists outside the High Court where Besigye was supposed to appear for proceedings in his treason-related case. The proceedings were scheduled for Wednesday, January 21 2026, but were adjourned after the court received a communication from the Registrar.
“As you have heard and witnessed, the court indicated that they got a communication from the registrar and the registrar was actually relaying information from the prison authorities that Dr. Besigye is indisposed and could not attend court today,” Lukwago said.
He described the information from prison authorities as a clear confirmation of Besigye’s poor health and said it was alarming that the court did not focus on stabilizing the opposition leader’s condition.
“What shocked us is the prayer they made that the proceedings be conducted virtually and they never explained exactly what was going to be done about Dr. Besigye’s failing health. That was rather disturbing to us,” Lukwago said.
The lawyer said the court seemed more interested in ensuring that the legal process continued than in addressing the medical emergency.
“All they were interested in is the proceedings to continue, not about stabilising Dr’s health, which was really absurd,” he said.
Lukwago argued that the Constitution requires an accused person to be present in court unless they personally waive the right to appear physically. He said Besigye has not waived this right, and therefore a virtual trial would be unconstitutional.
“So we made our case here that proceedings could not continue under such circumstances where Dr. Besigye is indisposed and also we objected to the virtual trial, because you know the constitution commands that an accused person must be here personally unless they themselves dispense with that right of appearing physically, which is not the case,” Lukwago said.
The judge eventually adjourned the case to February 24, 2026, for scheduling. However, Lukwago said the adjournment did not address the more urgent matter of Besigye’s health.
“We again are concerned about the deteriorating health of Dr. Besigye because our prayer has not been granted by the judge,” Lukwago said.
He revealed that efforts by lawmakers and colleagues, including wife to Besigye Honourable Winifred Byanyima, to secure his evacuation to a private medical facility have so far failed.
“You know the Honourable Byanyima and a couple of our colleagues have been visiting Dr. Besigye and doing everything possible to secure his evacuation to some better facilities outside the prison’s authority, I mean precincts. Unfortunately they have not been able to succeed,” he said.
Lukwago said he expected the court to intervene and direct that Besigye be transferred to a medical facility of his choice. Instead, he said, the court treated the request casually.
“We thought the court would intervene and make directives that Dr. Besigye be transferred to a facility of his choice. Again a rude shock has been treated, I mean has been given to us when the judge declined to grant that well-intentioned prayer that actually Dr. Besigye be accorded medical facilities that he deserves,” Lukwago said.
He said the judge’s response was to continue monitoring the situation and intervene only if the condition worsens.
“But how worse can it be if you have an accused person who cannot stand trial, who cannot appear in court and it’s confirmed by the prison’s authorities, it’s confirmed by court that actually he can’t even step out of his cell in Luzira, he can’t even access the conference room to interact with his lawyers,” Lukwago said.
He said it was absurd that the court would insist on continuing proceedings when Besigye is unable to participate.
“So how worse does he want it to be before court can intervene? We thought they wanted to prosecute a person who is alive, who is not dead,” he said.
Lukwago also expressed fear that the state may be repeating a pattern of negligence toward detainees, pointing to past cases where inmates died while in custody.
“That is how they have treated men of my choice and they end up dying at the hands of prison authorities. God forbid we pray it doesn’t happen to Dr. Besigye,” he said.
He said the situation is “a sickness which needs to be examined as to how it came about” and demanded proper medical diagnosis to determine the cause of the illness.
“This is sickness which needs to be examined as to how it came about. Just like any other person can fall sick so we want to establish and that’s why we are demanding for proper diagnosis, proper examination to understand what the cause is, what really the problem is,” he said.
Lukwago denied claims that Besigye’s condition is due to a hunger strike, saying prison authorities lack the capacity to conduct a thorough examination.
“It’s not hunger strike at all so we want to know. Unfortunately those people are ill-equipped, they don’t have capacity to do the thorough examination one would expect under the circumstances,” he said.
Byanyima has raised serious concerns over her husband’s health, accusing prison authorities of delaying and denying him medical care. She said she only saw Besigye after a week of restricted visitation, during which time he fell severely ill.
Byanyima explained that last Monday the prison was abruptly closed to visitors, a move she was told would last a week because of the elections. She said she requested permission to visit, but was only allowed to deliver food, and not to see her husband.
Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine has publicly denied that Besigye’s health is critical or deteriorating, saying his recent trip to a medical facility was simply a routine medical check-up and that he was returned to prison after the examination.
Baine has insisted that Besigye is “okay” and “receives necessary treatment like other prisoners.” According to one report, he said Besigye was even “doing his exercises” after being seen by medical staff, suggesting no immediate danger.
The prisons service has described claims that Besigye is critically ill as unfounded or false, contradicting statements from his party (PFF), family, and supporters. Baine insists opposition portrayals of his health as exaggerated.
