State Prosecution seeks to try Besigye in absentia

State prosecutors have reportedly asked the High Court for permission to continue the treason trial of opposition leader Col (Rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye in his absence as he remains under treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital.

The application was filed on Thursday, July 30, 2026, a day after Besigye collapsed during court proceedings and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Thomas Jatiko made the application before Justice Emmanuel Baguma according to insiders. 

The prosecution wants the court to allow the trial to proceed without Besigye's physical presence.

Justice Baguma did not immediately rule on the request before adjourning the matter to August 4, 2026.

The prosecution's application came after Besigye failed to appear in court because he remained hospitalised.

At the opening of Thursday's proceedings, Besigye had initially indicated that he was willing for the hearing to continue in his absence. 

He told court that prison authorities had forced him to attend proceedings under duress.

Besigye has consistently argued that he cannot proceed with the trial without lawyers of his choice. He cited the arrest of his lead lawyer Erias Lukwago and the deportation of another member of his legal team Martha Karua as reasons for his lack of effective representation.

He and his co-accused, Hajji Obeid Lutale, have also rejected the state-appointed lawyers assigned to defend them. 

However, Justice Baguma previously ruled that the three court-appointed advocates would continue representing them despite their objections.

The question of legal representation remains the subject of a separate application before Justice Simon Kinobe, who is expected to rule on August 13, 2026.

Besigye collapsed in court on Wednesday after protesting the continuation of the trial. Proceedings were halted before he was rushed to Mulago Hospital.

He remains under treatment at the national referral hospital.

Meanwhile, his wife, Winnie Byanyima, said doctors were still trying to determine what caused his collapse.

“Yesterday, @kizzabesigye1 was only partially conscious. He could hear but could not speak. He remains extremely weak. Doctors are still trying to determine what happened to him,” she posted on X.

Byanyima also said she was denied the opportunity to join a medical briefing by telephone while she was attending meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“Our family received a briefing from the Mulago doctors treating KB. Yet Prison Officer Siima denied me, his next of kin, the right to join the briefing by phone. His reason? He ‘didn’t have permission,’” she wrote.

She said she was travelling back to Uganda to be with her husband