Kampala — Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court has ordered prison authorities to provide a medical report on environmental activist Dorothy Asio after she collapsed in the dock on Monday while protesting her continued detention through a hunger strike.
The incident forced Grade One Magistrate Rophine Achayo to suspend proceedings for several hours as prison officials were directed to assess Asio’s condition and establish the circumstances surrounding her collapse.
The magistrate asked authorities to establish whether Asio was facing a genuine medical emergency or whether the incident had been staged. She also cautioned against attempts to dramatise court proceedings before adjourning the matter to November 16, when the bail application is expected to resume.
Asio, a Kyambogo University student and member of the activist group Rooted in Resistance, is among ten young people arrested on August 31 while marching towards Parliament to deliver a petition demanding reforms in Uganda’s oil sector.
The activists were charged the following day with being a nuisance on a public road under Section 67(1)(c) of the Roads Act, Cap 346. They have denied the charges and remain on remand, approaching 70 days in detention.
Speaking outside court, defence lawyer Kugonza Musimbi of the Liberty Pro Bono Initiative said Asio had resorted to a hunger strike to protest what the defence considers prolonged detention and repeated adjournments.
“Asio went on hunger strike, as there was nothing she could do to show that there is injustice,” Musimbi told journalists, adding that all proposed sureties were present and ready to stand for the accused.
Another defence lawyer, Samuel Wanda, said the activists had spent more than 60 days on remand without the prosecution presenting witnesses.
Wanda also said the defence had received unverified information from a prison officer suggesting that Asio could be suffering from ulcers.
Monday’s incident comes less than a month after another accused activist, Shakira Kasonga, collapsed in the same courtroom on October 12.
Following that incident, prison authorities were also directed to conduct a medical assessment. Kasonga was subsequently granted bail, while the other accused persons remain in custody.
Human rights activist David Musiri, who attended the court session, criticised the handling of the case and called for greater judicial independence.
He argued that Uganda was increasingly experiencing what he described as “rule by law” rather than the “rule of law”, urging authorities to prioritise environmental protection and accountability.
The activists, operating under Rooted in Resistance, have been campaigning against fossil fuel developments, including the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). They advocate for investment in renewable energy, green manufacturing and climate-smart agriculture.
Government officials, however, maintain that oil development is important to Uganda’s economic growth. The pipeline project is reported to be more than 90 per cent complete, with first oil production expected in 2027.
The court is expected to receive the medical report and continue hearing the activists’ bail application on November 16.
