Court Orders Medical Assessment of Activist Who Collapsed During Hearing

What the report says

Buganda Road Magistrate’s Court in Uganda has ordered prison authorities to medically examine an environmental activist who collapsed in the dock during a hearing involving members of the Rooted in Resistance group. According to Nile Post, the court directed that a medical report be returned after the incident, which happened as the activists appeared in a case linked to a protest over the country’s oil policies.

The court also adjourned the main matter to October 19 for a bail application hearing for 10 activists who were arrested on August 31, 2026. The group was detained while trying to march to Parliament to submit a petition calling for changes to oil policy and investment priorities, including concerns about environmental impacts tied to oil development.

Defense lawyers said the collapse raised concerns about detainees’ health and prison conditions, and argued that repeated delays were affecting the activists’ constitutional rights, including peaceful assembly and petitioning. One lawyer also said the team had expected a bail outcome but was unable to proceed because the magistrate was unavailable.

Nile Post also reported that proceedings involving four other Rooted in Resistance activists arrested on August 10 were pushed to October 26 for a separate bail hearing. The case highlights wider disputes over protest rights, pretrial detention and delays in court handling of activists’ cases in Uganda.