KAMPALA– The High court criminal Division, has temporarily halted the hearing of the treason case against Rtd Col. Dr. Kiiza Besigye to first hear his second application he filed seeking suspension of his criminal trial before the same court.
Besigye was supposed to take plea today alongside his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale and a UPDF soldier capt Denis Olaa, however through his legal team, he told court that he has instructed them to file a constitutional petition challenging his trial before this court.
The lawyers noted that yesterday evening they filed a second application online seeking immediate stay of the accused trial until disposal of the constitutional petition which challenges the jurisdiction of the high court criminal division to try treason suspects.
The trial judge Emmanuel Baguma ruled that for the interest of justice he had to first stay this trial so that he first handles the application seeking for stay.
The judge ordered the parties to file written submissions over this application before it comes up in court on 22nd December for hearing.
Besigye’s legal team led by Martha Wangari Karua informed the court that during this period it has the mandate to release their clients on bail as issues before court continue.
Besigye and Lutale have been in detention since November last year on charges of treason they allegedly committed in countries of Kenya, Greece and Switzerland between 2023 and November last year.
