Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has reportedly been transferred back to Luzira Prison from Mulago National Referral Hospital despite remaining in a weakened health condition, according to his wife, Winnie Byanyima.Byanyima said Besigye was taken from Mulago after 7pm on Friday, August 7, even though he was still unable to walk or speak properly and needed assistance with basic activities.“When I left KB at 4.30pm, he still could not walk or talk. At lunch, I fed him soft food with a spoon because his arms and hands remain very weak,” Byanyima said.
She also claimed that prison officials arrived while Besigye was preparing to eat dinner and transferred him before he could finish his meal.The former presidential candidate had been admitted to Mulago after collapsing during a High Court session in Kampala on July 31. His condition has since raised fresh questions about his ability to continue participating in court proceedings.
Byanyima said a meeting involving prison officials, Mulago doctors, Besigye’s personal doctor and his family had earlier discussed his rehabilitation. She claimed doctors presented a recovery plan and that a senior prisons official acknowledged that Luzira could not adequately support Besigye in his current condition.“We believed medical judgment would prevail. We were wrong,” she said.The transfer also came shortly after Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi visited Besigye at Mulago and said he was steadily recovering.Byanyima has questioned who authorised the transfer and why Besigye was returned to prison before regaining the ability to walk, communicate and care for himself independently.
Uganda Prisons had not, at the time of the reports, issued a detailed public explanation for the transfer.Besigye’s return to Luzira has intensified concerns over his health, detention and whether he is medically fit to continue facing the ongoing legal proceedings(For adverts, inquiries news, send us a message on +211929244599)
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