The Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court has issued a production warrant directing Uganda Prisons Services to produce Retired Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye for the continuation of his trial on charges of inciting violence.
State Attorney Allan Mucunguzi requested the warrant, which Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko issued on Thursday.
Following Besigye’s nonattendance in court, after he and opposition leader Samuel Lubega Mukaaku were jointly prosecuted, Mucunguzi requested the warrant.
Mukaaku was present, but Besigye, the principal suspect, was on detention after his arrest in Nairobi and subsequent arraignment before the General Court Martial, according to attorney Abubaker Ssekanjako, who was representing Besigye’s lawyer Erias Lukwago. This, Ssekanjako clarified, was the cause of Besigye’s absence.
Mucunguzi, however, noted that it was challenging for the prosecution to request Besigye’s production because Ssekanjako had not revealed which prison he was being held in. Detective Stephen Oryema, who was in the witness dock, was one of the witnesses the prosecution had called to testify.
In response, the court issued the production warrant, setting the next hearing for January 9, 2025.
Besigye was arrested in Nairobi last month, alongside Hajji Obeid Lutaale, and charged before the General Court Martial with offenses including unlawful possession of ammunition, firearms, and treachery. He was remanded until December 9, 2024.
In addition to these charges, Besigye faces accusations of inciting violence in a separate case at Buganda Road Court. The trial has been ongoing for two years. The charges relate to a protest on June 14, 2022, against rising commodity prices.
The prosecution alleges that Besigye and Mukaaku held an assembly at Kikuubo, Shauriyako Parish in Kampala Central Division, where they made statements encouraging demonstrations, which allegedly endangered property.
According to the Scene of Crime Officer Oryema’s report, Besigye and Mukaaku were seen addressing a crowd from a vehicle with registration number UAK 773F along Namirembe Road.
When police intervened, they towed the vehicle to CPS Kampala, where Besigye and Mukaaku were found inside.
The court had ordered the return of Besigye’s impounded vehicle in October 2022, but it has yet to be returned. In June 2023, a similar case against Besigye was dismissed for lack of prosecution. Besigye’s lawyer, Ssekanjako, described the charges as “flimsy” and claimed they were aimed at suppressing political opposition.
