COURT .
The Nakawa Chief Magistrate has declined to give a green light to the State to hack into veteran politician , Dr Kizza Besigye’s mobile phone, citing lack of jurisdiction after the latter and his co-accused were committed to the High Court for trial.
Ms Christine Nantege said Thursday that her court no longer had the powers to hear the case following the May 29, 2025, committal of the accused to the High Court.
“This court, having committed the accused persons to the High Court, does not have jurisdiction to make any decision or order after the committal proceedings,” ruled Magistrate Nantege.
Adding… “Accordingly, the application for recusal cannot be entertained by this court. Criminal proceedings in Criminal Case No. 8 of 2025 were concluded on May 28.”
The ruling arose from an application by Dr Besigye and his co-accused, Obeid Lutale, who asked the magistrate to step aside from hearing a state request to extract data from their mobile phones. The duo, through their lawyer ,Mr Erisa Lukwago, had earlier lodged a formal complaint before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), accusing the magistrate of misconduct and procedural impropriety.
“The accused have got reasonable fear that you do not have the requisite competence to adjudicate a matter of this nature,” Mr Lukwago told the court earlier this month, adding, “The propriety of these proceedings is manifestly unconstitutional.”
He argued that under the Magistrates Court Act, once an accused person is committed for trial before the High Court, the lower court has no residual powers to entertain any interlocutory applications.
In response, the Chief Magistrate agreed with the legal position, noting that jurisdiction is strictly conferred by statute.
“Jurisdiction is a creature of statute. A decision by a court without jurisdiction is a nullity. Once a court finds that it lacks jurisdiction to decide a case, it cannot take any further step in it,” she said.
The chief state Attorney, Mr Richard Birivumbuka, had applied to have an order to access data on Dr Besigye and Hajj Lutale’s phones to solidify his evidence in the High Court.
The development comes against the backdrop of a heated dispute over the handling of Capital Criminal Case No. 08 of 2025, in which Besigye, Lutale and UPDF officer Capt Denis Oola face treason charges.
Besigye and Lutale, who were committed without their lawyers present, argue this was a violation of their constitutional right to legal representation and have petitioned the JSC for redress. The complaint cites several alleged irregularities by Ms Nantege, including failure to compute remand periods and allowing courtroom disorder during proceedings.
“The accused were denied the right to be represented in a capital matter. This is not just a legal flaw ,but an affront to the Constitution,” reads part of the complaint.
While the JSC has acknowledged receipt of the complaint, investigations into the magistrate’s conduct are still pending.
For now, the case shifts fully to the High Court, where the treason charges will be heard and where the legal battles are expected to continue.
The two politicians were abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2024 and driven overnight to Makindye Military Barracks in Kampala, where they were held for days before they were arraigned in the General Court Martial on charges of treachery and illegal possession of two pistols.
Their case would later be transferred to the ordinary courts of law with competent jurisdiction, following a January 31, 2025, landmark ruling by the Supreme Court, which said the military courts were biased and not competent enough to try civilians before ordering that cases against civilians in the Military courts be transferred to ordinary courts.