Why has the state delayed Besigye, Lutale treason trial?

Kizza Besigye and Obed Lutale in the dock

To serve President Museveni, you must be ready to tell several and shameless lies.

That is what a high profile Museveni campaign team comprising the deputy speaker, Thomas Tayebwa; security minister, Jim Muhwezi; and ICT minister, Chris Baryomunsi did on December 20, 2025 in Rukungiri.

They said that Besigye’s lawyers were the reason he had not been tried more than a year after the state abducted him and his aide, Haji Obeid Lutale, on November 16, 2024, from Kenya before detaining the duo illegally in Makindye barracks for days. The military then unconstitutionally purported to conduct illegal proceedings in their kangaroo military tribunal [General Court Martial(GCM)].

The Supreme court would halt the illegal proceedings on January 31, 2025. Police later took over the file and arraigned Besigye and Lutale in a civilian court at Nakawa Magistrate’s court. It was not Besigye that took himself to a wrong court without jurisdiction. It was on Museveni’s orders that this height of injustice, impunity and abuse power occurred.

It was not Besigye that kept himself in detention without a valid warrant for most of February, 2025. Even treason suspects have fundamental human rights not only because they are humans but also because they are innocent until they are proven or plead guilty in fair trial before an impartial court or tribunal.

It is not Besigye and Lutale who denied themselves bail (including constitutional mandatory bail)––on flimsy reasons revolving around their high profile––every time they sought it. Remember it would not be the first time Besigye got bail pending trial of treason charges.

That was before judges lost their minds and the leaders of the judiciary had the mettle to resist and call out politicial intereference with judicial independence, whether subtle and disguised or brazen and naked. As Besigye rightly sees it, his current judicial harassment is the latest strand in a catena of persecution over his political views denouncing military dictatorship in Uganda.

On May 29, 2025, the State informed Besigye that it was ready to try him and committed his case to the International Criminal Division of the High court for trial. Pretending to commit Besigye to High Court for trial well knowing that the state was not yet even ready present witnesses against him as they later proved and verbally confirmed in broad day light in open court more than six months later on December 30, 2025 was a classic though increasingly classic abuse of office by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

In declining some of his bail applications, judge Emmanuel Baguma told Besigye that he should forget about bail applications and focus on the beginning of the trial.

He did this well knowing that the state had not disclosed, to accused, the evidence they intend to rely on to try Besigye and his co-accused. To date, the prosecution has failed to make the evidential disclosure. They confirmed the State’s unpreparedness to disclose the evidence on December 30, 2025 in open court.

What’s more, the State told Besigye, court and the public that they plan but have not made applications for witness protection. Only God knows when the state, which has had more than a year to apply for the protection of witnesses against Besigye–– assuming any of them needs protection from God knows whom––will make the simple application.

Besigye was visibly irked by the continuous persecution and told judge Baguma as much recently. The trial cannot proceed without state disclosure of the evidence against the accused to the accused and their lawyers.

Asked when they could disclose, the prosecutors were unsure and refused to commit but were ordered to attend a scheduling conference on January 21, 2026, sort out disclosure and related matters.

This state play of persecution, pretense and engineering the truth has real consequences for human beings. Besigye and Lutale are old men. They are married with children who look to them for love, care, comfort and provision.

They are human beings with fundamental human rights, health, family life, gusnissness at stake. It is bad enough to persecute Ugandans. It is heartless to pretend they are persecuting themselves or delaying their own justice, trial or liberty when you are the undisputed culprit and author of their misery