By Nasser Kayanja
Opposition figure Kizza Besigye and his co-accused appeared before the High Court of Uganda to follow up on the progress of the prosecution’s disclosure of evidence intended to be used against them in the ongoing case.
During the court session, defence lawyers raised concerns that the prosecution had failed to meet an earlier commitment to provide full disclosure of its evidence by 3 March. According to the defence team, the prosecution instead served them with additional documents only on the evening of the previous day.
The new documents reportedly contained statements from six more witnesses that the prosecution plans to rely on during the trial.
However, the defence argued that the disclosure remains incomplete because key details about the witnesses—such as their names and occupations—were not provided. Lawyers representing Besigye said that withholding such particulars limits their ability to adequately prepare for the case.
“This cannot be regarded as full disclosure,” one of the defence lawyers told court, noting that proper disclosure requires all relevant details about witnesses and evidence to be shared in advance to ensure a fair trial.
The defence further urged the court to direct the prosecution to provide complete information about all intended witnesses and supporting materials so that the legal team can properly review the evidence.
The court is expected to guide both parties on the timeline for full disclosure and determine the next steps in the proceedings as the case continues to unfold.
Rt. Dr. Kiiza Besigye threatens to boy-cott his treason trial and remain home( prison) to leave the court decide as it wishes. This is after trial judge Emmanuel Baguma insisted ti hear the prosecution’s application to protect the indentities of six witnesses; an application Beisgye and his lawyers claim have not been served withThe Defence lawyers have also complained that the prosecution didnot leave up to their commitment to make full disclosures by 3rd / March until yesterday.
The Defence says they have been treated unfairly as the judge keeps on extending clemency ( mercy) to the prosecution by fixing its applications and ignoring theirs .
