Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been charged with treason, in an escalation of legal troubles stemming from allegations he plotted to remove the country’s long-time leader by force. Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate in the east African country, sat in a wheelchair on Friday as he faced the charges in a courtroom in the capital, Kampala. Treason carries the death penalty in Uganda. Besigye has been in custody since Nov. 16, when he went missing in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Days later, he was presented before a military tribunal in Kampala to face charges related to threatening national security. The Supreme Court stopped his military trial last month, saying court-martial panels cannot try civilians.
