The High court in Kampala has issued a production warrant directing the officer in charge of Kitalya, Luzira, Kigo and Nakasongola prisons to produce lawyer Eron Kiiza before court this week for the hearing of his bail application. High court orders prisons to produce Ki
According to the order signed by the assistant registrar criminal division of the High court, Godfrey Ngobi Ssalaamu, Kiiza must be produced in court on March 25 at 9 am before justice Michael Elubu without fail.
Kiiza applied for bail about three weeks ago following his conviction by the army court for contempt of court earlier in January this year. Kiiza contends that he has a fixed place of abode at Central Kiwatule Zone, Kiwatule Ward, Nakawa Division, Kampala City, within the jurisdiction of the High court.
He told court that he has three sound and substantial sureties ready and willing to stand for him. They include his wife Sylvia Tumwebaze, an archives and data manager of Hima Cement, two lawyers including Dr Busingye Kabumba, a lecturer of Law at Makerere University and Primah Kwagala the executive director of Women’s Probono Initiative who are both his friends.
He says he is prepared to abide by all the conditions set by the court. Furthermore, Kiiza notes that he is a family man with three young children aged between 4 and 10 years who need him as a parent and keeping him in prison, he is likely to cause harm on both his parental and professional obligations as he is the sole partner at his law firm of Kiiza and Mugisha Company Advocates.
He also asked court to release him citing good conduct and his pending appeal which he believes has a high likelihood of success among other grounds. However, the prosecution argues that the appeal is frivolous and has no possibility of success because this the High court has no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal.
The director of private prosecutions (DPP) also disputed Kiiza’s claim that his appeal will be substantially delayed due to the backlog in the court system. Kyomuhendo stated that the High court has a good record of disposing of cases.
As such, the DPP urged the court to deny Kiiza’s bail application, citing the need to maintain court decorum and uphold the integrity of the court process. Previously High court civil division judge Dr Douglas Singinza dismissed a habeas corpus application filed by Kiiza for lack of jurisdiction, stating that it had been wrongly filed. Kiiza was convicted on January 7, 2025, when he had gone to represent Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale.
His evidence before court indicates that as he approached the bar, he was blocked, obstructed, and denied access by armed military personnel dressed in military police attire.
“When I demanded an explanation for my denial of access, none was given.This prompted me to insist on my right of access to the bar as an advocate,” said Kiiza.
Kiiza adds that within minutes, the court clerk violently pushed him away, and the military police orderlies descended on him with blows, kicks, fists, and batons.
“They violently dragged me from the courtroom to the dock while continuing to brutally assault me,” reads Kiiza’s affidavit.
Kiiza further states that after being forcibly removed from the dock and detained in the holding cells, the military police officers continued assaulting him until fellow inmates intervened.
He was subsequently convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to 9 months’ imprisonment, a sentence for which he has so far served more than two months at Kitalya Min-Max Prison.
Have you watched court proceedings on TV in the West or the USA and observed how lawyers behave? They even put their hands in their pockets. Is that contempt of court. You might learn a few things because some of the reasonings you give are petty.
For Mr Godfrey Ngobi Ssalaamu, Kiiza, that is the sort of mistreatment NRM gives to people demanding justice. Human rights are fundamental rights that every person is entitled to, regardless of nationality, sex, ethnicity, religion, language, or any other status. They include the right to life, freedom from torture, freedom of thought and expression, and the right to work and education. Protecting these rights is critical because they are essential to human dignity and the foundation for freedom, justice, and peace. So what was so new during 1980 as President Idi Amin was removed for President Yoweri Museveni to introduce his new political party of a Front for National Salvation in Africa. Salvation from what? This political business of The Front for National Salvation (FRONANSA) must have failed badly to appeal to the people in the Western provinces to try and elect FRONANSA other than the DP and UPC which at that time 1970/80 were the most popular political parties in the country. The group’s membership of this dodgy political party of FRONANSA unfortunately did belong to the Banyankole and Banyarwanda peoples who up to now seem not to want at all to respect fundamental human rights on the continent of Africa!
After failing badly to convince his FRONANSA die hard supporters during 1980, this current President did a runner backwards to former President of Uganda, Yusuf Kironde Lule. To join Lule’s NRM political party. He threw away his FRONANSA political party and lucky enough managed to gradually win the presidency of NRM political party now 40 years and counting. So what sort of Front for National Salvation is all about, other than all blatant political lies.
Marc Mae, Uganda isn’t a country any more & cannot be compared to the West nor USA that have had 9 presidents while Uganda has just Rwandese Museveni since 1986!
Powerless tribally divided ruled Ugandans ensure the zone formed by their tribal lands belong to Rwandese Museveni, so he is going no where unless Ugandans say NO to the tribalistic system & block h_im through UNITY!
Until then, those in posts are doing their best to please him & ensure their pays!
Are tribal leaders payed with tax money for doing whatever they do, saying anything about how Ugandans are treating one another to please their cief Museveni?
Of course we are still backward with this government and have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world. That is how terrible the situation is today
Kabayekka, understood, but,
Rwandese Museveni, like Sudanese Idi Amin, is not there for Ugandans, but to ensure they are slaves ensuring his ownership of their land, tax money, control of every institution!
Sudanese Idi Amin used Sudanese & S.Sudanese to kill, inmprison, torture…Ugandeans, now it’s powerless tribally divided ruled Ugandans doing the dirty work for Museveni!
Which means, Museveni is assured of lifetime rule & his son is the only replacement when he dies of old age at +90 years of age!