Kizza Besigye can be tried on charge of treachery - Court

The military court in Uganda has ruled that opposition leader Kizza Besigye can be tried on the charge of treachery, which is punishable by death.

The ruling came after a military prosecutor on Monday amended Besigye’s charge sheet to include treachery.

Besigye is charged alongside Obeid Lutale, and a third suspect, a serving army officer, who was introduced on Monday.

According Reuters who sawa the charge sheet, Besigye and his co-accused allegedly possessed intelligence about a plot to undermine national security but "consciously withheld the said vital information from the proper authorities".

The opposition leader had earlier on been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and alleged solicitation of military support overseas to destabilise national security.

Besigye, who denied the charges, has since been remanded in custody.

The opposition leader, 68, has faced arrest and assault several times in his political career but has never been convicted of a crime.

The case comes as Uganda prepares for the 2026 general elections. Besigye has contested for the presidency four times.

He was once President Yoweri Museveni’s doctor in the 1980s during Uganda’s civil war between government and rebel forces but later became an outspoken critic and political opponent.

Besigye and Lutale resurfaced at the Kampala court after going missing on November 16, 2024, in Nairobi.

Besigye's wife, Winnie Byanyima, alleged that the charges against him were politically motivated. His lawyers have rejected the charges as baseless.

During his last appearance in court on January 7, Besigye was sentenced to nine months in prison for alleged contempt of court over an altercation with court orderlies.

Demanding for his release, Amnesty International has since described Basigye’s detention and jail sentence as outrageous.

“Eron Kiiza’s imprisonment is outrageous. Military personnel baselessly prevented him from accessing defence benches, then assaulted and arrested him, before hauling him to a court martial which convicted and sentenced him without even reading charges or hearing arguments,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Sarah Jackson said.

“This sham process directly violates Uganda’s constitution, especially after the 2022 constitutional court ruling making trials of civilians in military courts illegal. Ugandan authorities must stop trying civilians in military courts, stop targeting lawyers simply for doing their job and immediately release Eron Kiiza.”