Opposition figure Dr. Kizza Besigye has been returned to Luzira Prison from Mulago National Referral Hospital, despite concerns from his family and political colleagues that he remains too weak to leave hospital.
Besigye’s partner, Winnie Byanyima, said he was taken from the hospital after 7pm on Friday, shortly after Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi visited him.
Byanyima said Besigye was still unable to walk or speak when she left the hospital at about 4:30pm and required assistance to eat.
“At lunch, I fed him soft food with a spoon because his arms and hands remain very weak,” Byanyima said in a statement posted on X.
She questioned the decision to return him to prison, saying a previous meeting involving a senior prisons official, Mulago doctors and Besigye’s personal physician had raised concerns about whether Luzira could support the rehabilitation he requires.
According to Byanyima, the prisons official had acknowledged that the facility could not adequately accommodate Besigye’s rehabilitation needs and had recommended that he remain at Mulago.
She said the decision changed following Baryomunsi’s visit.
“An order came to remove Kizza Besigye from Mulago and return him to Luzira,” Byanyima said, describing the move as “cruel” and calling for his right to proper medical care to be respected.
The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), the political group associated with Besigye, also condemned the transfer and called for him to be evacuated abroad for specialised treatment.
The development came hours after Baryomunsi said he had visited Besigye at Mulago and that the opposition figure was “steadily recuperating.”
“I paid a visit to Dr. Kiiza Besigye today morning at Mulago Hospital, where he is hospitalised. He is steadily recuperating and I wished him quick recovery,” Baryomunsi said.
The minister’s visit, however, has become a point of contention, with Byanyima linking it to the subsequent decision to discharge Besigye. Baryomunsi has maintained that his visit was a personal gesture of concern and was separate from the decision concerning Besigye’s discharge.
Besigye, 70, was taken to hospital after collapsing in the dock during his treason trial in Kampala on July 29. His health has since remained a major concern for his family and supporters.
Amnesty International had earlier raised concerns about Besigye’s health while in detention and called for access to specialised medical care.
His return to Luzira is likely to intensify the debate over the adequacy of medical care available to detained opposition figures, particularly as Besigye continues to face treason-related proceedings.
Byanyima has called for Besigye to be allowed access to appropriate rehabilitation and for his possible transfer abroad for further treatment, while authorities have indicated that he is recovering.
The conflicting accounts leave Besigye’s precise medical condition unclear, with his family describing him as heavily dependent on assistance while the Health Minister has characterised his condition as steadily improving.
