Why Did Armed Guards Give Uganda's Top Lawyer Just 120 Seconds to Face Justice?

Armed military police burst into Makindye's General Court Martial at 3:28 PM Tuesday, forcefully escorting prominent attorney Eron Kiiza to face an unprecedented lightning trial. The distinguished lawyer, wearing handcuffs over his blue suit, stood bewildered as Brigadier Robert Freeman Mugabe unleashed military justice.

According to shocked courtroom observers, the dramatic scene intensified when Kiiza, representing opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye in an ammunition possession case, received his fate without a single opportunity to speak. The military tribunal, brushing aside legal protocols, declared him guilty of confronting a court orderly and causing disruption.

The seasoned attorney maintained his composure while Brigadier Mugabe swiftly pronounced a nine-month prison sentence. Military officers immediately surrounded the dock, their weapons visible as the clock struck 3:30 PM, marking just 120 seconds from entry to judgment.

Veteran defenders Erias Lukwago and Fredrick Mpanga leaped to their feet, demanding the right to appeal. Their urgent pleas crashed against the court's stone-cold response of functus officio, effectively sealing their colleague's fate without recourse.

Armed guards marched the composed Kiiza through silent corridors toward holding cells, preparing for his transfer to the forbidding Kitalya Government Prison. The shocking display of military authority echoed previous cases, including attorney Jimmy Muyanja's indefinite suspension and activist Muhydin Kakooza's similar nine-month sentence.

This lightning prosecution joins a pattern of swift military justice, where defendants face judgment without traditional legal protections. The case has sent tremors through Uganda's legal community, marking another chapter in the complex power dynamic between military courts and civilian justice.