Ugandan Judge Pressuring Former Presidential Candidate, And Co-Defendants, To Choose Court-Appointed Lawyers

By Black Star News Uganda’s jailed four-time presidential candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused have been given up to July 14 to choose their defense lawyers from lawyers available under the State’s legal panel. Failure to do so, ruled Justice Emmanuel Baguma of the Criminal Division of the High Court sitting in Kampala on July 13, the accused persons will have legal representation appointed for them and on their behalf. Besigye, his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale Kamulegya and Capt. Denis Oola are jointly charged with treason. They have been in detention with bail denied since November 2024. “We are not represented, my Lord. I came here by duress and I am still in handcuffs…Our legal representation is clearly in question. We have challenges accessing our lawyers, accessing disclosures and obtaining the court record. After accessing all we need, then we shall be ready for trial,” Besigye said as he personally addressed court on July 13. And, according to Capt. Oola, he never knew there was court on July 13. “It is my prayer that service of such hearings should be done to all, and thereafter I will be ready,” prayed Capt. Oola. The defense legal team that represented Besigye has been shattered. Former Kampala Lord Mayor, Senior Counsel Erias Lukwago, who led the defense team was abducted from his house in an early morning military raid on June 15. He was held incommunicado for two days following which he was dumped at the police station. Immediately produced in court by the police, Lukwago was slapped with misprision of treason charges in which the State alleges that he knowingly failed or refused to report to the authorities that his client Besigye was about to overthrow a sitting government. Yet another of Besigye’s defense lawyer, Kenya’s former justice minister and now opposition leader, Senior Counsel Martha Karua, had her passport stamped at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport, pulled aside, declared persona non-grata and later deported back to Kenya. She had arrived in a show of solidarity with her Senior Counsel colleague Lukwago who was appearing in court on June 22. Under the Human Rights (Enforcement) Act and various provisions of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, Besigye and Lutale then sought to sue the Chief of Defense Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba as the First Respondent and the Attorney General as the Second Respondent. In a tweet, Muhoozi had confirmed deporting Karua. In their application, the duo of Besigye and Lutale argue that the deportation of Karua is an effort aimed at undermining their defense team in the long-awaited treason trial. Besigye and Lutale demand that the court declares that they are entitled to legal representation by advocates of their choice, including Karua, whom they describe as their duly-instructed lead counsel since November 2024 when they were incarcerated. Their contention is that the immigration decision to deport Karua was unlawful because persona non-grata is not among the grounds for classifying a person as a prohibited immigrant under Uganda’s Citizenship and Immigration Control Act. According to the applicants, the decision to declare persona non-grata and then deport Karua was made without according her an opportunity to be heard. To them, this contravenes the constitutional guarantees of due process and a fair hearing. Again, they contend that when Karua’s mobile phones were confiscated, the confidential lawyer-client communications were likely compromised and this, according to the applicants, violates their constitutional rights to privacy and a fair hearing. Furthermore, they allege that Karua’s deportation was part of a wider campaign to obstruct their defense by intimidating members of their legal team. And besides Karua’s deportation, Besigye and Lutale cite the military detention and the subsequent prosecution of yet again their senior defense team legal representative, Lukwago. Justice Baguma has, however, adjourned the case to July 15 ruling that should Besigye and his co-accused decline to pick lawyers from the available list, court would direct the Registrar to appoint counsel on their behalf to ensure the trial proceeds without any further delay. In his address, Besigye had insisted that the pending applications concerning legal representation and alleged violations of their constitutional rights should be heard before the substantive trial kicks off in earnest. In a national televised address on July 4, Gen. Yoweri Museveni blamed Besigye and his co-accused of delaying their own trial.