Ugandan Opposition Leader's Hunger Strike Challenges Military Tribunal

Kizza Besigye, a prominent Ugandan opposition figure, has started a hunger strike while on trial in a military tribunal. His protest follows the Supreme Court's ruling barring military courts from trying civilians, a decision the government plans to ignore. Officials deny Besigye's hunger strike.

Kizza Besigye, a significant opposition figure in Uganda, has initiated a hunger strike during his trial in a military tribunal. This action comes two weeks after Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled against trying civilians in military courts, a decision President Yoweri Museveni's government has vowed to ignore.

Despite the highest court's ruling, Museveni insists on prosecuting civilians via military courts, a stance that keeps Besigye, a long-term adversary, in their crosshairs. While officials deny that he is on hunger strike, Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, asserts that her husband’s protest is due to his illegal detention and the ongoing injustices he faces.

Besigye, once Museveni’s personal doctor, has since become a resolute opponent, contesting and losing four presidential elections amid allegations of vote fraud, which he cited as irregular. This longtime political tension is further inflamed by accusations of human rights violations against Museveni's administration, which the government steadfastly denies.