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Monday, August 11, 2025
Image: Urban Television.
The High Court of Uganda, located in the country’s capital Kampala, denied a bail application from opposition leader Kizza Besigye in an ongoing treason case on Friday, August 8, on the grounds that they allegedly didn’t meet the minimum 6-month remand period.
Besigye’s legal team, formed by Senior Counsel Martha Karua, Erias Lukwago, Frederick Mpanga, Nalukoola Luyimbazi and Ernest Kalibala, argued that their remand period started the moment when they were first arraigned at the General Military Court on November 20, 2024. The two prosecutors, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Thomas Jatiko and Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka, countered their arguments, stating that the DPP was not in charge of the case during the period it was brought before the court martial.
Justice Emmanuel Baguma endorsed the prosecution’s argument, saying: “It [the evidence before the court] shows that the charges were read to the applicants on February 21, 2025. No cogent evidence was presented to this court to prove the period the applicants claim to have spent in the General Court Martial.” Baguma further added that the court could not accept collected evidence available in the public domain. However, he also recognised that the applicants’ trial would be fast-tracked under High Court Session Case No. 335 of 2025 in the “interest of justice for both parties.”
