10/7/2026
Dr. Kizza Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale on Wednesday suffered yet another setback in their bid to terminate treason proceedings against them.
That followed the second ruling by the High Court Criminal Division Judge Emmanuel Baguma, which dismissed an application they had filed seeking to be freed because their constitutional rights had been violated.
Besigye and Lutale had asked the court to nullify the treason charges, arguing that their constitutional right to a fair trial had been irreparably violated.
The ruling by Justice Emmanuel Baguma clears the way for the treason trial against Besigye, Lutale and UPDF Captain Denis Oola to begin on July 13, 2026..
In a ruling delivered electronically on Wednesday through the Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS), Justice Baguma dismissed Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 227 of 2026, describing it as incompetent and an abuse of court process intended to delay the hearing of the main criminal case.
They also sought orders for their unconditional release and requested that the government facilitate their treatment and rehabilitation at the African Centre for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (ACTV), or another suitable medical facility.
In affidavits filed in support of the application, the two accused alleged that they were unlawfully abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, by Ugandan security operatives and forcibly returned to Uganda without following the required legal procedures.
They further claimed that they were detained incommunicado at Makindye Military Barracks, denied access to lawyers and medical personnel, held beyond the constitutional 48-hour limit before being presented to court, and detained in a military facility that is not gazetted for civilian detainees.
Besigye also accused the Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who was listed as the first respondent, of making public statements threatening to have him hanged and portraying him as a criminal before trial, actions they argued undermined his constitutional right to a fair hearing.
The respondents, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Colonel Peter Ahimbisibwe, Lieutenant Colonel Ephraim Byaruhanga and the Attorney General, denied all the allegations.
In affidavits filed through the Attorney General’s Chambers, the respondents maintained that Ugandan security agencies neither abducted nor arrested Besigye and Lutale in Nairobi.
Through State Attorney Johnson
Natuhwera, the government also denied that the named UPDF officers participated in any operation leading to the applicants’ arrest.
The state further argued that Besigye and Lutale were informed of the reasons for their arrest, had access to legal representation and medical care, and that the treason charges were based on evidence and the law.
Baguma agreed with the respondents, holding that the applicants had failed to produce credible evidence proving the alleged violations of their constitutional rights. He found that the affidavit evidence presented amounted to speculation and conjecture rather than proof.
The affidavit evidence adduced by the applicants lacks credibility. The evidence was too shallow to persuade this court about the alleged violation of the applicants’ human rights and freedoms,” Justice Baguma ruled.
