The High Court in Kampala will deliver its ruling on the mandatory bail application filed by former presidential candidate and opposition activist Dr. Kizza Besigye and his political ally, Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, by email.
The ruling will be delivered on Friday ,July 8,2025 , by the High Court Judge, Emmanuel Baguma, who is hearing the case.
Baguma made the pronouncement on Wednesday evening while Besigye and Lutale appeared before the High Court.
“We have been here the whole day. Allow me to use tomorrow and deliver the ruling on Friday with conditions and terms,” Judge Baguma said.
During the Wednesday session , the DPP opposed a second bail request by Besigye and Lutale saying they don’t deserve to be outside the prison gates .
The prosecution, through a sworn affidavit by Detective Inspector of Police Festo Kukundakwe Busingye, asked the High Court, led by Justice Emmanuel Baguma, to reject the application, arguing that Dr Besigye is not law-abiding and may flee.
The prosecution cited Dr Besigye’s alleged record of disobeying court orders, pending charges, and the seriousness of the alleged offences, which they say threaten national and international security.
“I have read the first applicant’s (Besigye) application for bail, supporting affidavit and annexures thereto and found the same lacking merit,” the August 1 affidavit reads in part.
According to the affidavit, the charges stem from illegal acts, not political persecution.
“The first applicant is not being persecuted for his defence of the Constitution or good governance but is being legitimately prosecuted upon reasonable suspicion that he and others committed a criminal offence,” it stated.
It added that Dr Besigye had spent 162 days on remand as of August 1, not 180 days as claimed. The affidavit also refers to Nakawa Criminal Case No. A-0014 of 2016, where Dr Besigye allegedly jumped bail and was absent from September 2017 to February 2020.
Court also heard that Dr Besigye is still on trial at Buganda Road Court over incitement to violence, alongside Walter Lubega Mukaku, and that the current offences were committed while he was out on bail.
“He will commit other offences if admitted on bail again,” Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka said.
The prosecution said the offences took place in Uganda, Kenya, Switzerland, and Greece, and warned he could interfere with witnesses. They also questioned the strength of his sureties and accused him of abusing court process by filing bail applications under different case numbers.
“These charges attract a possible maximum sentence of death, which makes the applicant a flight risk,” Mr Birivumbuka stated. Mr Birivumbuka said cases were not transferred from the General Court Martial (GCM), adding: “That would be a legal error. The GCM is a product of the UPDF Act and cannot be bundled with civil courts.”
However, defence lawyers led by Mr Fredrick Mpanga argued that the applicants qualify for mandatory bail under Article 23(6) of the Constitution.
He argued that the remand clock started on November 20, 2024, not February 21, as claimed by the State. “The remand exceeded 180 days on May 19, 2025. This application was filed on May 28, the 190th day,” Mpanga noted, citing prior rulings by Justices Michael Elubu and Muwata in similar cases.
Mr Mpanga argued that Article 23(6) mandates release on bail where a person has been on remand for 180 days without committal. Mr Eron Kiiza, another of Besigye’s lawyers, said the arrest in Kenya was an abduction and that the ongoing detention is illegal and politically motivated.
Background
Besigye and Lutale were abducted on November 16, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya, and remanded by the court martial on November 20, 2024.