The High Court has dismissed a habeas corpus application filed by detained lawyer Eron Kiiza, ruling that the procedure he adopted to challenge his conviction and sentence by the General Court Martial (GCM) was incorrect.
Justice Dr. Douglas Karekona Singiza, who presided over the matter, stated in his ruling that the High Court lacked the necessary appellate or revisionary powers to overturn a criminal conviction and sentence issued by the military tribunal. He advised that the proper approach for Kiiza should have been through judicial review rather than a habeas corpus petition.
Kiiza, an advocate of the High Court of Uganda, was representing opposition figure Rtd. Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye and Haji Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya at the General Court Martial when he was found guilty of contempt of court. On January 7, 2025, he was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment at Kitalya Mini Max Prison.
His lawyers argued that his continued detention was illegal, citing a Supreme Court ruling in Attorney General v. Hon. Michael Kabaziguruka, which declared that courts martial lack the independence and impartiality required to guarantee a fair hearing for civilians.
“The continued detention of Mr. Kiiza is against the tenets of constitutionalism, rule of law, and good governance,” stated his lawyer, Ronald Samuel Wanda, in court filings.
However, Col. Raphael Mugisha, Head of Prosecutions at the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), argued that the Supreme Court’s decision did not apply retroactively to past convictions unless they were being formally challenged in a court of law. Since Kiiza had already appealed to the Court Martial Appeals Court (CMAC), the Attorney General’s representative, Senior State Attorney Johnson Natuhweera, maintained that the habeas corpus petition was misplaced.
Justice Singiza acknowledged the concerns regarding Kiiza’s conviction but clarified that jurisdictional constraints prevented him from intervening in the case through a habeas corpus order.
“I take the firm view that the procedure adopted by the applicant to challenge the impugned conviction and sentence was an incorrect one,” the judge ruled.
He noted that while the Supreme Court had ruled against courts martial trying civilians, it had also stated that past convictions would stand unless formally challenged in the appropriate appellate court.
The judge dismissed the motion with no orders as to costs, effectively upholding Kiiza’s continued imprisonment unless another legal remedy is pursued.
Meanwhile, the ruling underscores the legal complexities surrounding military trials of civilians in Uganda, even in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision.
However, Kiiza remains at Kitalya Mini Max Prison, where he is serving his nine-month sentence.
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