Court issues production warrant for Dr Besigye, Lutale to appear this morning
Dr Kizza Besigye (2nd right) and Mr Obeid Lutale (2nd left) in the dock at the High Court in Kampala on April 11, 2025. PHOTO/ IBRAHIM KAVUMA
What you need to know:
- According to the production warrant issued yesterday (May 22) to the in-charge of Upper Luzira prison, the two remandees should be brought before the court this Friday morning.
Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court has issued a production warrant to Luzira prisons to immediately produce remanded veteran politician Dr Besigye and his political aide Hajj Obeid Lutale.
According to the production warrant issued yesterday (May 22) to the in-charge of Upper Luzira prison, the two remandees should be brought before the court this Friday morning.
“You are hereby directed to produce the above Rtd Col Dr Kizza Besigye, and Hajj Lutale before the Chief Magistrate Court of Nakawa a 0:9am on the 23rd day of May 2025,” the production warrant signed off by the Chief Magistrate, reads in part.
The production warrant comes barely one day after the same court further remanded the trio suspects to May 29.
On Wednesday this week, when Dr Besigye and co-accused appeared, the presiding Chief Magistrate was indisposed, hence sent a Grade One Magistrate to merely adjourn the case on his behalf, yet the defense counsel had critical issues to raise before the court.
According to Erias Lukwago, one of the defense lawyers of Dr Besigye, on Wednesday, he was determined to convince the court to release his clients on account of mandatory bail.
Mandatory bail is where the court releases a suspect on bail without any conditions if they have clocked six months on remand without the state completing the investigations and sending them to the High Court to stand trial.
On the other hand, the state had also indicated that it would amend the charge sheet.
Dr Besigye and Hajj Lutale have since spent over six months on remand following their arrest in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, in November last year. They had gone to attend the launch of a book by Martha Karua, the former Justice Minister of Kenya.
Before the General Court Martial in Makindye, they were charged with security-related charges, including being in illegal possession of a gun.
However, early this year, following the January 31st landmark judgment of the Supreme Court that held that it was unconstitutional to charge civilians before the military courts, Dr Besigye and his co-accused were taken to Nakawa Court, a civilian court, and this time slapped with treason charges.
Still, the state hasn’t completed carrying out investigations on account that the alleged crimes were committed both outside and within Uganda, hence they need more time.
This is the longest time that Dr Besigye has been on remand in the two decades that he has been in and out of prison.
It’s the prosecution’s case that the duo, alongside Capt Denis Oola, and others still at large between 2023 and November 2024, at various places and countries, including Geneva in Switzerland, Athens in Greece, Nairobi, Kenya, and Uganda, contrived a plot to overthrow the current government by force of arms.
