Besigye, Lutale apply for bail after 150 days  on remand

KAMPALA - Four-time presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye and his aide, Hajj Obeid Lutale, have once again applied for bail at the Criminal Division of the High Court in Kampala.

The duo argue that they have spent over 150 days on remand at Luzira Prisons without being committed to the High Court for trial.

“I have not been committed to the High Court for trial, and the period of my pre-trial remand remains uncertain,” Besigye lamented.

This comes a week after High Court judge Rosette Comfort Kania used her discretion to deny Besigye and Lutale bail, citing the nature of the charges – treason and misprision of treason – that they are facing, and instead opted for a speedy trial.

The duo is facing the charges together with the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) officer, Captain Denis Oola, who is attached to the armoured brigade.

In their bail application filed in court on April 17, 2025, Besigye and Lutale state that they have no capability of interfering with the investigations and the witnesses.

They say that being law-abiding citizens, they will not commit an offence while on bail.
Besigye stated that over the years he has been charged with various grave offences including rape, treason, and terrorism and none of them ended in a conviction.

Besigye and Lutale argue that their advanced ages of 68 and 65, respectively, make it difficult for them to cope with the harsh prison conditions they have experienced during their detention at Luzira Prisons.

The accused are represented by lawyers Erias Lukwago, Ernest Kalibala and Samuel Kayizzi while the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is being represented by Chief State Attorneys Richard Birivumbuka and Joseph Kyomuhendo.

Besigye and Lutale were abducted by Uganda’s security forces on November 16, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya, where they had travelled to attend a book launch by Kenyan politician Martha Karua. Karua is now Besigye’s lead lawyer.

They were later returned to Uganda, detained at Makindye Military Barracks, and arraigned at the General Court Martial on charges related to security and illegal possession of firearms and remanded on November 20th 2024.

However, due to a jurisdictional issue, their case was transferred to a civilian court, as Besigye and Lutale are civilians. They were subsequently charged with treason and misprision of treason at Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court and remanded to Luzira Prison.

Allegations

It is alleged that Besigye, Lutale, Oola and others still at large between 2023 and November 2024 at various places/countries including Geneva in Switzerland, Athens in Greece, Nairobi in Kenya and Kampala in Uganda, contrived a plot act by force of arms to overturn the Government of Uganda as by law established and expressed or declared such plot, act or matter by utterances and overt acts.

According to the charge sheet Besigye, Lutale, Oola and others still at large between 2023 and November 2024, in the same countries, knowing that another person intended to commit treason, did not give information thereof with all reasonable dispatch to the minister, an administrative officer, a magistrate or an officer in charge of a police station or use all reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of treason.

Particulars of overt acts

Prosecution alleges that the accused persons travelled to various countries, including Switzerland, Greece, and Kenya, for purpose of attending meetings to further the plot to overturn the Government of Uganda.

Court documents indicate that the accused persons attended meetings with various individuals both physically and virtually in various places, including Geneva in Switzerland, Athens in Greece, Nairobi in Kenya and Kampala in furtherance of the plot to overturn the Government of Uganda.

According to the court documents, the accused persons provided logistical support and organising for several Ugandan citizens to travel to Kisumu, Kenya, for the purpose of receiving training in various military and intelligence-gathering techniques.

It is further alleged that the trio solicited for military, financial and other logistical support to overturn the Government.