The Assistant Director of Public Prosecution who is also leading the prosecution lawyers in Dr Kizza Besigye and his co-accused trial Thomas Jatiko declined to object the prayer made by Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier to be allowed to have audience with his mother.
Captain Denis Oola pleaded with Justice Emmanuel Baguma of the Criminal Division of the High Court to allow him by directing prisons officers to let him talk to his mother who had promised to visit him explaining that he has spent more than two years without talking to her.
“It has taken me two years in prison, and I have not seen or talked to my mother and family, today I have seen her in court, please allow me to talk to her,” a soft spoken Oola asked.
The presiding judge was touched by Oola’s prayers and directed prisons officers to allow him inside the courtroom to talk to his mother and if his other family members before taking him back to Upper prison Luzira.
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Even though, Dr Besigye and his personal political assistant Al-Hajji Obed Lutale are set to make a year in prison since their kidnap in Nairobi Kenya in November 2025, Oola, according to Kira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda has been in prison for more than two years
Ssemujju claims that the first time he saw Oola was when he was brought at Makindye military court to be charged together with Dr Besigye and Lutale. He was also shocked seeing former minister Col Charles Okello Engola complaining that trying Oola with Besigye was frustrating the trail of one of his relative in the military court by then in 2024.
Oola through his lawyer Nsubuga Busagwa is denying the charges slapped on them where State claims that him together with his co-accused and others still at large were planning to assassinate President Museveni, poison top government officials and overthrow his government illegally.
While Oola was allowed to talk to his mother, Lutale was struggling to save his daughter who was forcefully arrested and taken to Central Police Station for disrupting court proceedings and threatening Justice Baguma’s security.
As Mariam Lutale, a daughter to Lutale was jumping on top of the tables, while both male and female policemen struggled to overpower her, her father watched on painfully in the dock and was seen calling his daughters name asking her to cool down
“Mariam please, please,” Lutale seen pleading with his already charged daughter.
After seeing mean looking security officers overpowering her daughter and forcing her out of the courtroom, Lutale called his other daughters who were in court to follow up their sister to establish where she was taken.
“Prossy, go and see what is happening to Mariam,” he sent one of his daughters.
He calmed down after serial litigant Male Mabirizi who had followed the officers who were took Mariam to CPS returned and reported to defence lawyers that she had been taken to CPS.
He insisted that they plead with the judge to order police to release the lady who is contesting for the position of Lubaga North Member of Parliament on People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) political party ticket.
“This lady, who has just been carried out is a daughter of Hajji Lutale. She must have been carried away by emotions. We pray that you use your discretion to order her release. When she gets released, I promise we will sit with her and calm her down not to repeat what she has done,” Karua pleaded.
The judge summoned the lawyers to his chambers and after listening to Karua and other lawyer’s pleadings including Kampala city lord mayor Erias Lukwago, Fred Mpanga, Ernest Kalibbala, Bayern Turinawe, Male Mabirizi, he summoned SP Ronald Mutabazi who is the police commander in the judiciary.
State’s side which was represented by Jatiko didn’t oppose the pleadings even though his junior Richard Birivumbuka was trying to insist.
The judge directed Mutabazi with immediate effect make sure that Mariam is released. He pleaded with Karua to talk to her people so that they cooperate with him insisting that he is not an enemy to any of the accused persons but he is also doing his job to presiding over a matter assigned to him.
As Mariam was escorted back to judiciary headquarters from CPS police, female security officers who forced her out of courtroom apologised to her and she assured them that it’s okay.
Mariam told Ono Bwino that she doesn’t have any personal issues with judge Baguma but the problem is seeing him, a person who is supposed to give justice being used to violate justice and torment an old man.
“If not helped early, this situation that my father and Dr Besigye are going through may lead to them dying in prison very soon. That’s why Baguma comes in my dreams when I’m sleeping at night,” Mariam said
Besigye and his co-accused are expected back in court on 04th December 2025 to take plea of the charges even though they are protesting jurisdiction of the Court where they are being charged.
