Former Kampala deputy lord mayor Doreen Nyanjura visited detained opposition leader Kizza Besigye on 20 October and provided a detailed account of his medical condition.

Besigye is receiving speech‑therapy that uses an alphabet chart for him to tap individual letters, although he has not yet succeeded in forming complete words.

When verbal expression is difficult, he also relies on the same chart to spell messages and has begun learning basic sign language as an additional communication method.

His hands remain weak and unsteady, preventing him from holding a water bottle without assistance.

Despite these physical limitations, Nyanjura noted that Besigye’s mind stays alert; he recalled waking up days later in Mulago Hospital’s intensive‑care unit after the collapse.

Besigye told Nyanjura that simply surviving under the current Ugandan regime is an achievement and urged his supporters to hold on.

He also informed her that detained Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago is now a fellow patient at the same facility, though the two have not yet met.

Besigye has been in detention since November 2024 after being abducted in Kenya and transferred to Uganda, where he and aide Obeid Lutale face treason charges that they deny.

Prosecutors allege the pair conspired to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni’s government, a claim the opposition rejects.