The 70-year-old has been in detention since November 2024.
His lead lawyer was arrested last month and charged with allegedly failing
to report acts of treason.
The visibly frail politician was objecting to state lawyers
being appointed to represent him when he fell, prompting prison guards to rush
him to hospital.
"He is unconscious, unable to speak, and unresponsive
even to a pain stimulus," his wife, Winnie Byanyima, who heads the UN's
agency tackling HIV and Aids (UNAids), wrote on X.
Besigye, who has run for president against long-serving
leader Yoweri Museveni four times, was dramatically abducted in Kenya in 2024
and taken back to Uganda.
He has since been held along with his aide, Obeid Lutale,
and both have been charged with treason, which they deny.
Prosecutors allege that Besigye and his co-accused plotted
to overthrow President Museveni's government.
Treason is a capital offence in Uganda and if found guilty the veteran politician could be sentenced to death.
During Wednesday's hearing at the High Court in Kampala
witnesses in court said Besigye repeatedly shouted "stop" about his
legal representation before collapsing.
"Before he collapsed, he cried out that he was being
injured," his wife posted, adding that Besigye's sister Olive Kobusingye,
who is a doctor, was in court but was not allowed to attend to him.
He was transferred to Mulago National Referral Hospital,
Uganda's largest public hospital, but was refusing treatment from government
medical personnel.
"He will not allow any government official to touch
him," Byanyima said.
His wife demanded that Besigye be allowed to receive
treatment from his personal physician at a private clinic rather than at a
government health facility.
The ICU wing where Besigye is being treated is guarded by
heavily armed security officers. Reports say his sister, who is also his
personal doctor, has now been allowed to see him.
Besigye's main lawyer, Erias Lukwago, is in jail after being
seized by the army last month.
His other lead lawyer, prominent Kenyan Martha Karua, was
then barred from entering the country when she flew in to represent him last
month.
There have been increasing calls by the family, opposition
and human rights groups for Besigye to be released on medical grounds.
On Wednesday, Besigye's son, Adam Ampa, appealed to
President Museveni and his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is Uganda's army
chief, to show mercy by releasing his father on humanitarian grounds.
"Regardless of politics, no son should have to witness
his father reach such a state while standing before the very law he served and
dedicated his life," Ampa wrote in an open letter shared on social media.
This is not the first time Besigye has been admitted to
hospital since his detention.
In February 2025, he was taken to a private clinic
after his health deteriorated while on hunger strike over his continued
detention.
He was taken to hospital for a brief stay again earlier this
year.
Bobi Wine, a Ugandan opposition politician who fled the
country fearing for his life after contesting the January presidential
election, said Besigye's appearance in court while clearly unwell was a
"shocking violation of his most basic rights".
Besigye once served as Museveni's personal doctor before
breaking ranks with him in 1999.
He has been less active in politics in recent years, and did not contest the 2021 election.
Watch the video below:
I am demanding that my spouse Dr @kizzabesigye1 is taken to see his personal doctor at her clinic in Bogolobi NOW. He has collapsed in court and was returned to prison.
— Winnie Byanyima (@Winnie_Byanyima) July 29, 2026
His doctor is concerned about his health.
Dr @kizzabesigye1 has insisted NOT to be treated at a govt…
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