The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LOP), Mathias Mpuuga has asked the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo to stop lamenting about the misuse of Courts of law by the state and start acting as the leader of the Judiciary in Uganda.
Mpuuga cautioned the Chief Justice while at Kigo Prison where he had gone to visit jailed legislators; Muhammad Ssegirinya of Kawempe North and his counterpart Allan Ssewanyana of Makindye West.
He said the Chief Justice has always looked on as judges and prosecutors play hide and seek in the case of the two lawmakers.
“While opening the new law year, last week the Chief Justice said the trial of these two honourable members will commence and it’s going to be fast. However, I want to advise the Chief Justice that the detention of these two members started more than a year ago and they have not seen any free and fair trial, therefore, there is no amount of speeding is going to be exhibited here,” he said.
“Probably he has woken up after a long slumber to realize that courts have been taken over but we want to invite him to take charge of the courts as Chief Justice, I don’t know why he had to wake up last week to say that these two members are going to have a quick trial!”
Mpuuga also noted that the fact the two MPs have spent one and half years on remand was enough for the Chief Justice as the head of the temple of justice to react and inquire why. He revealed that the long silence of the Justice Dollo is clear evidence that he has not always been in charge of courts in Uganda.
“One and a half years in detention! Denied bail! Does the Chief Justice want to share with us why judges were being changed? In an event that Mr Museveni is thankful to the judiciary for implementing his views on bail. So is it wrong to suggest that their detention was an answer to Mr Museveni’s quest to deny them bail? So the CJ should be away that we are watching and that he must take charge to preserve the little thread of dignity left in the courts of Uganda,” he said.
Last week while delivering his speech at the launch of the new law year, 2023, Justice Dollo promised that courts are going to speed up trials that have taken long without being handled. Among those he mentioned is that of Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana.
The two lawmakers’ troubles started in September 2021 when the then Director of Criminal Investigations Grace Akullo ordered Paul Kato Tumuhimbise the Commissioner of Police, to write to the Speaker of Parliament summoning them to appear before detective Moses Taremwa at Masaka Police Station on September 6 to record statements in connection with the Greater Masaka machete killings.
The prosecution told the court that the accused persons murdered Francis Kizza, Sulaiman Kakooza, and Tadeo Kiyimba and attempted to murder Ronald Ssebyato of Ssetaala village in Masaka city. Yeteise didn’t allow the MPs to take a plea, arguing that his court lacks jurisdiction on the matter, and remanded them to Kitalya prison.
According to their lawyer, Shamim Malende, who is also the Kampala Woman Member of Parliament, the state has until now failed to produce evidence against her clients.
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