In a dramatic courtroom confrontation, veteran opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye turned the tables on the presiding judge during proceedings in his high-profile treason case, effectively putting the judiciary itself under scrutiny.
Besigye, who has been detained for nearly a year alongside co-accused, used his appearance before Justice Emmanuel Baguma at the High Court to voice a litany of grievances about the handling of their case.
Speaking directly to the judge, he detailed what he described as an illegal rendition from Nairobi, Kenya, where he and others were arrested by individuals claiming to be Kenyan police before being transported to Uganda’s Makindye military barracks.
“We had gone to Nairobi for a visit, only to be bundled into a vehicle that stopped merely at a petrol station and Malaba border,” Besigye recounted, emphasising the lack of due process in their transfer and initial arraignment before a military court.
He argued that their continued detention persisted unlawfully even after Uganda’s Supreme Court nullified the court-martial proceedings. The opposition figure, a long-time critic of President Museveni’s government, highlighted a jurisdictional mismatch.
Indicted by the Nakawa court on May 29, 2025, for trial at the International Crimes Division of the High Court, Besigye questioned why they were instead appearing before Justice Baguma’s court.
“We seem to be in the wrong court,” he asserted, suggesting it was a tactic to prolong their incarceration and delay justice.
The session grew tense as Besigye referenced a prior mandatory bail application before the same judge, which was denied in a ruling that left the defendants “seriously stunned.” He accused Justice Baguma of either incompetence or bias, pointing out that the judge claimed ignorance of their earlier court martial charges despite extensive documentation submitted in the bail application, including unchallenged details of their Nairobi arrest and remand.
“These documents were not contested by the prosecution, and our lawyers made extensive reference to them,” Besigye said, interpreting the judge’s oversight as evidence of partiality. In a bold move, he informed the court that a formal complaint had been lodged against Justice Baguma with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), and he personally handed over a copy to the judge.
Besigye further criticised the judge’s bail ruling for prioritising a full hearing over bail considerations, which he viewed as indicative of preconceived bias.
“In light of our complaint, would the judge still consider it prudent to continue with the process of establishing justice for us?” he queried.
The judge accepted Besigye’s statement and the complaint document, though no immediate response was issued on the jurisdictional concerns or the bias allegations.
Besigye’s courtroom address comes amid ongoing tensions in Uganda’s political landscape, where opposition figures have frequently accused the judiciary of complicity in government crackdowns.
