This investigative website can exclusively report that Upper Prison top commanders held several crisis meetings to strategize on how to handle Dr Kizza Besigye’s riot over claims that he is being politically persecuted by president Museveni through Chief Justice Owiny Dollo’s judiciary.
Highly placed prison sources revealed to this website that the meetings are coordinated by Bryn Mbazira the Officer in Charge of the Upper Prison who briefs Commissioner General Dr Johnson Byabashaija on whatever resolutions they reach for proper guidance.
Besigye and his political assistant Al-Hajji Obed Kamulegeya Lutale were remanded to Upper Prison when Mbazira the substantive commander was sent on further training. But a few weeks ago, he reported to his office and he was immediately assigned with the role of solving Besigye’s looming threat of rioting in prison.
Besigye through his lawyers led by Ssalongo Erias Lukwago assured Justice Emmanuel Baguma the deputy head of the Criminal Division of the High Court that they will never again appear before him after accusing him of being biased against them.
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Justice Baguma advised Besigye’s lawyers to file a formal application. When they filed it, he dismissed it noting that the allegations placed on him are mere figments of their imaginations which cannot make him recuse himself from their case.
He further explained to them that the accusation of delaying the fixing of their bail application were not caused by himself but by the judiciary system which stated that matters should be handled in their respective order starting with those that were registered in the judiciary system first.
“I have carefully examined the concerns of this bias raised by counsel for the applicants. I find that there was no reasonable apprehension of bias in respect to the alleged prolonged delay to fix the applications and in the dismissal of the application for mandatory bail. If there was any bias, I would be the first one to step down without any notice from the applicants or their lawyers,” justice Baguma states in his ruling.
A determined Baguma summoned Besigye’s lawyers together with the State prosecutor from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to appear before him and they agreed on the schedules concerning how they are going to handle Besigye’s other bail application before him on 27th August 2025.
Justice Baguma also set 1st of September 2025 to kick-off the hearing of Besigye’s main trial even though his lawyers are still contesting the prosecution of their clients before the Criminal Division of the High Court insisting that their clients have been already committed to the Crimes War Division of the High Court.
However, in the closed door meeting that they held, sources claim that when Besigye’s lawyers raised that matter, Justice Baguma told them that Thomas Jatiko, a senior prosecutor together with his boss Justice Jane Frances Abodo are the ones with powers to decide where a suspect should be prosecuted, not private lawyers.
Lukwago told this website that they have not yet consulted their client since Justice Baguma made a ruling against them to guide them on their next move concerning how to handle their cases before Justice Baguma because they had already assured them earlier that they will never appear before him again.
Now sources at Upper Prison are strategizing on how to manage the situation if Dr Besigye and his co-accused decline to board the prison car appear via zoom once their matter arises in court.
This is going to be the next strike Besigye is going to hold since he was remanded in November 2024.
The first was a hunger strike where he protested being detained in prison on court martial remand documents yet the Supreme Court had already declared that military courts don’t have powers to try civilians.
He only suspended the strike after being charged before the civilian courts.
This website has exclusively learnt that Justice Baguma is ready and determined to try Besigye and his co-accused even in absentia because the law allows it.
Besigye and Lutale were kidnapped from Nairobi in Kenya by Ugandan security operatives on allegations of having a plan to assassinate President Museveni and poison top government officials.
President Museveni and his son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba the Chief of Défense Forces (CDF) advised Besigye that instead of blackmailing prosecutors for public sympathy, he should accept to go through a speedy trial.
