Besigye, 70, has been in custody and facing treason charges over an alleged plot against veteran President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.
His wife Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of Geneva-based UNAIDS, condemned the continuation of the trial when Besigye was unable to attend.
“This is not a trial, it’s a farce, because Kizza Besigye has not refused to come to the dock… He’s bedridden, he’s seriously ill, he cannot talk,” she told AFP.
He was abducted in neighbouring Kenya in 2024 and reappeared in Uganda, where he was brought before a military tribunal until the case was transferred to a civilian court.
The ageing politician was recently admitted to intensive care after collapsing, but was sent back to prison earlier this month against medical advice.
Earlier this month, Byanyima appealed to authorities to grant him bail so he could receive medical treatment.
The trial comes after months of international condemnation, with some of Besigye’s lawyers also ending up behind bars.
Byanyima said her husband had been offered the option of appearing via video — although reporters on Tuesday were banned from using their phones inside the courtroom.
“They were trying to turn his hospital bed into a dock,” she said.
“It’s a political and military operation dressed up as a court case,” she added.
Uganda in recent months has imposed a widening crackdown on opposition figures, lawyers and independent media.
