Dr. Kizza Besigye’s lawyer, Eron Kiiza, who was sentenced to nine months by the Court Martial, has been granted bail by the High Court.
Kiiza, who had been in detention since last year, sought bail after his controversial incarceration on January 9 by the now-invalidated General Court Martial for contempt of court. Justice Michael Elubu granted him bail pending his appeal against the Court Martial conviction and sentence.
As part of his bail conditions, Kiiza was required to pay a cash bond of Shs20 million. His sureties, including Sylvia Tumwebaze, Makerere University law lecturer Dr. Busingye Kabumba, and human rights advocate Primah Kwagala, were each bonded at Shs50 million, non-cash. He was also ordered to report to the registrar every first Monday of the month and to deposit his passport in court.
In his appeal, Kiiza has raised four key grounds, arguing that the General Court Martial erred in law and fact by convicting and sentencing him without formally charging him, putting him on trial, or granting him the right to be heard—violating his constitutional right to a fair hearing. He also contends that the court erroneously concluded he had assaulted a court orderly without properly evaluating evidence of his alleged contemptuous conduct.
Furthermore, Kiiza asserts that the General Court Martial, chaired by Brigadier Robert Freeman Mugabe, acted beyond its jurisdiction by convicting him and imposing an illegal, excessively harsh, and disproportionate sentence. He is seeking to have his appeal upheld on the grounds of justice, equity, and good conscience, calling for his conviction to be quashed, his sentence set aside, and his release from prison.
