FILE: Allan Ssewanyana and Muhammad Ssegirinya

High court justice Jane Elizabeth Alidviza has accused the state of lack of seriousness, and threatened to throw out the case in which two MPs; Allan Ssewanyana and Muhammad Ssegirinya are accused of murder and terrorism.

This came after the state failed to disclose the evidence they intend to rely on to pin two MPs, citing logistical challenges in meeting their witnesses. Ssegirinya, Ssewanyana and five others were on November 12, 2021, committed to the High court on charges of murder, attempted murder, aiding and abetting terrorism arising from the wave of machete killings that marred Masaka and Lwengo districts between March and June 2021 which left more than 30 people dead.

The other accused are Jackson Kanyike, John Mugerwa, Bull Wamala, Mike Sserwadda and Jude Muwonge. Prosecutors; Joseph Kyomuhendo and Richard Birivumbuka informed the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High court about the delay when the matter came for a pretrial hearing on Tuesday before justice Alidviza.

When the matter came up, justice Alidviza informed the accused persons that a pretrial is a procedure followed by the ICD to ensure a fair trial and to enable the case to proceed expeditiously.

She said at this stage, prosecution is supposed to disclose all their evidence and exhibits it intends to use against the accused persons and it is her duty to mark the evidence and weigh to see if they hold merit to sustain the charges at full trial before the matter can be heard by a panel of three justices.

But prosecution through Birivumbuka told the court that they are unable to disclose the evidence at this point on grounds that they have not yet visited and interviewed their witnesses in Masaka.

Birivumbuka indicated that they have to visit the witnesses first and understand their challenges if any, and appreciate which type of help or support they need but this one also requires collaboration from witness protection agencies – something that court had ordered the prosecution to do in the previous month.

Birivumbuka told court that the prosecution lacked funds to do so because the financial year was coming to an end. He further indicated that they intend to make a witness protection application before court in order to have their witnesses not be exposed. And since they have not done all this, they asked for 30 more days to organize their house in order.

In response, the lawyers representing the accused persons led by Erias Lukwago protested the adjournment prayers, arguing that it is only meant to delay justice and not taking into consideration the rights of the accused.

The judge accused the prosecution of lack of seriousness in handling the case and refused to grant their one-month adjournment prayer and instead drew up a tight pre-trial hearing schedule to start hearing the case on July 28. She further warned the prosecution that she will grant no more adjournments.

She has also directed the Uganda Prisons Services to produce Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana physically in court on the next date because they can’t keep following proceedings online via Zoom while their co-accused appear physically in court.

In June 2022, the Court of Appeal justices dismissed an application for bail by the two legislators for lack of jurisdiction and ordered the High court to ensure that their trial is done expeditiously.