KAMPALA.
Counsels representing remanded former President of Forum for Democratic Change President Dr Kiiza Besigye have petitioned the High Court in Kampala, expressing their concern about the delayed fixing and hearing of the second bail application of their client.
AF Mpanga, one of the law firms representing Dr Besigye, in their May 14 letter to the head of the Criminal Division of the High Court, said they had tried to get Dr Besigye’s second bail application fixed and heard but in vain.
“We refer to the above captioned application, which was filed on ECCMIS on April 22, 2025 at 9:49am. From court records on ECCMIS, the application was admitted and on April 28,2025, at 7:22am, allocated to Judge Emmanuel Baguma. Since April 28, 2025, we have tried without success to have the application fixed for hearing so that a physical copy of the application can be served on the Director of Public Prosecutions,” AF Mpanga law firm said.
It added: “We, therefore, write to seek your urgent intervention to ensure the application is fixed so that it can be served, heard and determined before May 22, 2025.
Citing the Constitution and Bail Guidelines for Courts of Judicature, the lawyers contend that courts are required to hear and dispose of a bail application within 30 days from the date it was filed. Dr Besigye and his political aide Obeid Lutale are facing charges of treason.
In their second bail application, some of the grounds that they raise include being of advanced, and, therefore, not able to manage the harsh conditions of jail and that they have not been committed to the High Court for trial and yet they have been in detention for more than 150 days.
Justice Rosette Comfort Kania rejected Dr Besigye’s first bail application on April 11. Although she said Dr Besigye met all the thresholds of being granted bail, added that he faces the charge of treason, which is one of the “gravest” on the statute books, and that he might interfere with investigations that are not yet complete.
Judiciary spokesperson James Ereemye Mawanda attributed the delayed fixing and hearing of the matter to recent transfers of judicial officers, including the head of the Criminal Division of the High Court. “ I’m very certain that when it reaches the head of the division, who is also new, will take notice of it.
This has caused a bit of a delay, but we implore the parties to be patient,” he said last evening. The State alleges that the duo, Capt Denis Oola from the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, and others still at large between 2023 and November 2024, in various countries, including Switzerland, Kenya and Uganda, contrived a plot to overthrow the government.