Besigye Moves to Halt Treason Trial Over Constitutional Petition

The prosecution further alleges that Besigye sought surface-to-air missiles, ricin poison, counterfeit currency, and planned to use drone technology to assassinate President Yoweri Museveni. The state claims it has audio and video recordings, social media messages, immigration documents, and phone logs linking the accused to the alleged plot.

Dr Kizza Besigye and his co-accused Hajji Obeid Lutale at court on Thursday

Lawyers representing jailed opposition politician Dr. Kizza Besigye have asked the High Court to halt his treason trial, which is currently before Judge Emmanuel Baguma.

The matter came up on Thursday, when Dr. Besigye and his co-accused, Obeid Lutale and Captain Denis Oola, were appearing in the court to take a plea.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Thomas Jatiko, informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed.

Defense lawyer, Martha Karua, then informed the court that new developments had arisen, and she invited lawyer Ernest Kalibala to explain.

Kalibala told the court that they had been instructed to file, and had indeed filed, Constitutional Petition No. 31 of 2025 before the Constitutional Court.

The petition raises issues concerning the recusal of the trial judge, the referral of constitutional questions to the Constitutional Court, and whether the criminal trial should continue in light of those issues. He explained that the declarations sought would directly affect the ongoing criminal session, making it necessary for the constitutional issues to be resolved first.

Kalibala added that the defense had also filed Miscellaneous Application No. 814 of 2025 before the High Court, seeking an order to stay the hearing of Criminal Session Case No. 335 of 2025 pending the outcome of the constitutional petition.

He acknowledged that the application had not yet been formally served but maintained that it ought to be disposed of before any further steps are taken in the treason trial. He asked Justice Baguma to fix the application for hearing as soon as possible.

Jatiko responded by noting that the parties last appeared in court on November 6, 2025, nearly a month earlier.

He said the prosecution had come prepared for plea-taking and was unaware of the new application. He asked the court to allow plea taking to proceed first, after which the prosecution would need a month to respond to the defense application.

Kalibala conceded that the prosecution had not been formally served but said they were informally aware of the filing. He noted that the supporting affidavit contains only 22 paragraphs and argued that giving the prosecution time until Monday would be sufficient for them to respond. He described the request for one month as excessive.

Defense lawyer Erias Lukwago then told the court that the prosecution’s claim of lack of notice was unjustified because the judiciary now uses a digital filing system.

He said that once an application is filed through ECCMIS, an online system by the judiciary to file cases, all parties automatically receive notifications, and that the prosecution was merely reluctant to check the system.

He added that the defense always checks for updates, even if only a few seconds have passed. Lukwago emphasized that matters touching on the impartiality of the court are central to the administration of justice and must be addressed before the case can proceed. He noted that any request involving the potential removal of a judge requires careful consideration before the trial moves forward.

Major Simon Busagwa Nsubuga, who represents Captain Denis Oola, said that the petition filed by Dr Kizza Besigye has a great bearing on his client, with whom they are jointly charged.

But Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka said that Lukwago is not a Gen Z and not an expert in Information Technology. He said that the ECCMIS account, the way it works, is that you can’t access it unless you have been linked to it. He said there is no evidence that the office of the DPP has been linked to the application for stay of proceedings.

But Besigye’s lawyers insisted that should the Court go ahead and enter a plea for Besigye, it would be a violation of the accused’s right to a fair hearing, which is non-derogable.

However, in his decision, the Judge has agreed with Besigye’s Lawyers, noting that in the interest of justice, he will first hear the application seeking to stay proceedings in the treason trial.

He has gone ahead and ordered the applicants to serve the Prosecution today, and they make their formal response on December 11th, 2025, and the applicants make their rejoinder on December 18th, 2025. According to the Judge, the parties will then return to Court for a hearing on December 22nd, 2025.

Besigye and Lutale accuse the trial Judge of bias and incompetence, and it’s the reason they are seeking to halt proceedings before him until the Constitutional Court decides whether, as a person whom the accused are seeking to remove from office by filing a complaint before the judicial service commission, he is competent and will be fair to preside over their treason trial.

Trouble for the Judge started when he dismissed bail applications for Dr Besigye and Lutale and chose to prioritize the trial instead.

Speaking to Uganda Radio Network after the Court, Besigye’s Lawyer, Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa, has appreciated the Judge’s calmness today and for being liberal, adding that had he always conducted proceedings with judicial temper like he was today, they probably wouldn’t have reached the extent of petitioning the Constitution Court. Justice Baguma was today unusually calm and did not raise his voice to Court users and litigants as he had always done in the previous proceedings.

Dr Kizza Besigye, Obeid Lutale, and Captain Denis Oola face treason charges for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. Prosecutors allege that the trio held meetings in Geneva, Athens, Nairobi, and Kampala to solicit funds, acquire weapons, and organise paramilitary operations.

According to the state, Besigye allegedly met a Kurdish intelligence agent identified as Andrew Wilson (AW) and received $5,000 to facilitate the transport of 36 Ugandan recruits to Kisumu, Kenya, for military training. The recruits were reportedly intercepted and deported before the training began.

The prosecution further alleges that Besigye sought surface-to-air missiles, ricin poison, counterfeit currency, and planned to use drone technology to assassinate President Yoweri Museveni. The state claims it has audio and video recordings, social media messages, immigration documents, and phone logs linking the accused to the alleged plot.