KAMPALA- Lawyers, opposition supporters, friends and relatives of Kampala lawyer Eron Kiiza sing the Uganda national anthem as they congratulate him upon being granted bail this afternoon.
Kiiza Eron, who is one of the lawyers of remanded veteran opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye was, on January 7, 2025, summarily sentenced to nine months in Kitalya Prison for contempt of the General Court Martial.
He applied for bail after the Supreme Court stopped military courts from trying civilians and ordered that case files of ongoing prosecutions be transferred to courts with competent jurisdiction.
Relatedly, Veteran opposition politician Kiiza Besigye and his aide Hajj Obeid Lutale appeared before Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court after the State made an application seeking to hack into their mobile phones to extract evidence which will be used in their treason trial.
Justice Micheal Elubu ordered Kiiza to pay 20 million shillings in cash and instructed his three securities — wife Sylvia Tumwebaze, cousin Dr. Kabumba Busingye, and friend Prima Kwagala — to execute a non-cash bond of 50 million shillings each.
Kiiza had spent over 80 days in Kitalya prison, serving a nine-month imprisonment term for contempt of the General Court Martial. His troubles began Jan. 7, 2025, when the General Court Martial found his conduct unbecoming of an advocate while representing clients facing treachery charges.
The court’s chairman, Brig. Freeman Mugabe, ordered Kiiza’s arrest and imprisonment.
Kiiza appealed the sentence, and his release now offers hope to civilians facing trial before the General Court Martial, signaling that civil courts will implement the Supreme Court’s decision to bar the trial of non-soldiers in military courts.
