Lawyer Kiiza makes lemonade out of Kizza Besigye’s lemons

The day began on a high note following the presence of the new lead defence lawyer, Ms Martha Karua, the former justice minister of Kenya. Equally, lawyer Eron Kiiza was in a jolly mood as he and other defence lawyers were seen jostling around the premises of the heavily-guarded military court.
He wore a striking blue coat for the day’s anticipated hectic legal work.
Moments after Opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye and his co-accused Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamuegeya had been delivered to court, he was among the defence lawyers who refused to access the courtroom without their mobile phones.

He looked unbothered when he was blocked by security personnel from accessing the courtroom. He, along with other lawyers, retreated to the lower side of the court into the compound.
While there, Mr Kiiza removed his coat and did close to 30 press-ups amid cheers from fellow lawyers and other curious litigants who had also been blocked from accessing the courtroom.
“Counsel, counsel, counsel, counsel,” they chanted.
Moments later, the group was allowed to access the courtroom with their phones.
Upon reaching the courtroom, Mr Kiiza struck a more serious look and on several occasions interjected the judge advocate Raphael Mugisha who was fully dressed in military uniform.

“Excuse me, let us first finish our submissions. Thank you very much. We are still proceeding as defence counsel, we shall not allow you to proceed. Thank you,” Mr Kiiza told Mr Mugisha.
The judge advocate had cut short the submissions of defence lawyers Erias Lukwago (Kampala Lord Mayor) and Ernst Kalibaala by reminding the court that it should deliver its ruling on some of the issues raised.
“We have all the locus, … what are you talking about,” a tough-talking Mr Kiiza said, attracting laughter in the court.
This prompted the chairman of the court to intervene and appeal to Mr Kiiza to tone down his voice, which attracted murmurs in the fully packed courtroom.

The face-off between Mr Kiiza and the judge's advocate didn’t end there.
The lawyer stole the show again when he accused Mr Mugisha of being on a mission to mislead the court with what he called null and void submissions.
“My colleague in uniform is on a mission to mislead this court and he is doing well in that direction. For a lawyer on the other side to say that somehow lawyers who are not ready to receive the ruling must receive whether they like it or not, I think he is crossing legal boundaries,” Mr Kiiza submitted.

“That rule you are quoting is null and void. Article 2 of the Constitution is very clear that if any regulation, or speech, from the prosecution is inconsistent with the Constitution, the words of the Constitution on such things are null and void. So will this court follow null and void submissions or will it follow the provisions of the Constitution? Business is not going to be as usual,” he added.
The judge advocate followed up by referring to the provisions he had cited as “law” and not “regulations.”

“I went to law school for five years and this Constitution was promulgated in 1995 and Article 221, these articles are in my head. ….says that UPDF shall promote, respect, and protect this Constitution and the fundamental human rights of Ugandans and we are saying that a right to a fair hearing is not negotiable,” Mr Kiiza said. 

“And we are saying the right of Dr Besigye and Hajj Lutale to choose their lawyers, even to change them is not negotiable. So if you have not read those provisions, you shouldn’t come here to mislead the court,” he added.
In a separate follow-up interview on Tuesday, Mr Kiiza blamed the delay to access the courtroom for his mood in the courtroom.

“These searches were excessive, repetitive, and caused unnecessary multiple delays. We were required to leave our bags elsewhere, and some lawyers, including the lead team, were initially denied the right to bring their phones into the court. This included attempts to bar even senior counsel from accessing the court with phones. However, we firmly objected to this outright,” Mr Kiiza said.
In 2005, the same court presided over by then chairman, the late Gen Elly Tumwiine, ordered the detention of Dr Besigye's lawyers, Mr Lukwago and Mr Caleb Alaka, for seven hours for alleged contempt of court. They were later released.

About Eron Kiiza
Eron Kiiza is an environmentalist, rule of law champion, and the chief executive officer of The Environment Shield LTD, a civic organisation and environment watchdog advancing the right to a clean and healthy environment, climate justice, and fighting the climate emergency, pollution, and biodiversity loss for the good of the people and nature.
He is the managing partner at Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates, a Kampala-based law firm founded in 2018.

He is a human rights lawyer and an advocate of the high court and all courts of Uganda having enrolled in 2011.
Previously, Mr Kiiza served at several law firms in Kampala including Ayebazibwe-Makorogo & Co. Advocates, Niwagaba & Mwebesa Advocates.
It was during his time at Niwagaba & Mwebesa Advocates that he launched his first strategic litigation.

In 2013, President Museveni appointed the late Gen Aronda Nyakairima (RIP), then an active serving army general, to the Cabinet, which did not sit well with him.
He petitioned court over the matter which unfortunately did not see the light of day as Gen Nyakairima died before the conclusion of the matter.

Other cases he has handled include defending 28 leaders of the people of Mubende who were evicted from the five villages of Lwensanga, Kambuye, Kyabaana, Kanseera, and Kikoono; the Rwandan detentions in incommunicado; book writer Kakwenza Rukirabaishaija; ECOP and Bugoma forest, among others.
According to the Kiiza and Mugisha Advocates website, Mr Kiiza holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Uganda Christian University (LLB), a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Law Development Centre, Kampala.
It adds that he is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda; a member of the Uganda Law Society and the East African Law Society.