Ugandan opposition figure Besigye 'critically ill' in jail: lawyer

Uganda's veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye stands in the dock at the Makindye Martial Court in Kampala, on November 20, 2024. [AFP]

Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye is "critically ill" in jail three days after starting a hunger strike to protest his detention, one of his lawyers told AFP on Thursday.

Besigye, 68, is a leading opponent of the country's President Yoweri Museveni, whom he has challenged unsuccessfully in four elections.