Opposition politician Dr. Kizza Besigye has accused High Court Judge Emmanuel Baguma of either gross incompetence or bias in the handling of his ongoing treason trial.
Appearing before the Criminal Division of the High Court in Kampala on Wednesday, Besigye raised a series of legal and procedural complaints which he said undermined the fairness and legality of the proceedings.
The former FDC leader, who was allowed by the judge to personally address the court, questioned the court’s jurisdiction, the legality of his detention, and the conduct of the presiding judge. The confrontation stemmed from an earlier court session on October 1, 2025, when Justice Baguma reportedly refused to allow Besigye to speak during the plea-taking process.
During that session, scheduled for plea-taking, Besigye rose and told the court, “Good morning, My Lord. I wish to raise a matter of concern before we proceed with this business.” However, the judge interrupted him, asking whether he had withdrawn instructions from his lawyers — Kenyan opposition figure and advocate Martha Karua, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, and Captain Simon Busagwa Nsubuga, who represents co-accused Captain Denis Oola.
Karua responded that no law prohibits an accused person from addressing court while represented by counsel. Besigye clarified that he had only temporarily withdrawn instructions to raise a personal concern before reinstating them. Justice Baguma, however, insisted that proper procedure required a written withdrawal of representation and directed that any issues be submitted through his lawyers by October 3, promising to respond on October 8.
From Luzira Upper Prison, where he is on remand, Besigye later wrote to the judge protesting what he described as an “oppressive denial” of his right to speak in open court. In a letter dated October 2, he asked the judge to cite any law barring an accused person from addressing court in the presence of counsel. When court reconvened on Wednesday, Justice Baguma allowed Besigye to speak. In his oral submissions, Besigye narrated the circumstances surrounding his arrest and that of his co-accused, Obed Lutale and Captain Denis Oola.
He said they were abducted in Kenya, bundled into a vehicle, and driven across the border without any formal extradition process. They were later taken to Makindye Military Barracks, where they were held incommunicado for four days without access to lawyers or family before being charged in the General Court Martial. Besigye said the military detention was unconstitutional since neither he nor Lutale were serving soldiers. He added that the General Court Martial — which had remanded them — was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court before its dissolution in January 2025, yet they remained in custody despite expired remand warrants.
He argued that the state should have produced them before a police station and arraigned them in a competent civil court. Besigye further said they were later indicted before Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court, which committed the case to the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court. He noted that the ICD differs from the Criminal Division in jurisdiction and structure, and therefore appearing before Justice Baguma in the Criminal Division amounted to “another irregularity.”
He questioned why the case had been diverted from the ICD and suggested it could be a tactic to frustrate justice. Besigye also took issue with an earlier ruling by Justice Baguma, who in August rejected his application for mandatory bail, saying the court had no record of the previous Court Martial proceedings. Besigye described this as either a falsehood or judicial negligence, arguing that both his and Lutale’s affidavits clearly referenced their earlier military trial — which the prosecution had also acknowledged.
He told Justice Baguma that the handling of their case left only two possible conclusions — “either the judge is grossly incompetent and unable to read what is on file, or he is biased.” Besigye said both possibilities were deeply troubling, adding that the judiciary should serve as a temple of justice. He revealed that he and Lutale had filed a formal complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) seeking Justice Baguma’s removal from office and personally served the judge with a copy of the complaint.
Besigye, who spoke for more than 20 minutes, also questioned the handling of their bail application. He said their second bail bid, filed in April 2025, was set aside when Justice Baguma ruled that the main trial should take precedence. He argued that this rendered their right to bail meaningless and suggested that their case might have been diverted to the Criminal Division to frustrate the bail process.
He asked whether, in light of the pending complaint against the judge and the alleged irregularities, it was prudent for Justice Baguma to continue presiding over the matter. He lamented that they had spent nearly a year in prison and were no longer young men able to easily recover from the effects of prolonged detention. Another accused person, Captain Denis Oola, raised a separate concern about possible mistaken identity.
Oola told the court that he is RO 12743 Captain Denish Oyaa Oola, aged 43, attached to the UPDF’s 5th Infantry Division — not the Engineering Brigade as stated by the prosecution. He presented his national ID and asked court to clarify whether he was the actual suspect in the case or being detained in error. Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka requested 30 minutes to consult before responding.
When court resumed at 1 p.m., he explained that the reference to the International Crimes Division in the indictment was a “typing error” and that the Criminal Division of the High Court has unlimited jurisdiction to try all criminal cases. Birivumbuka said the prosecution had seen no evidence of bias or incompetence on the part of Justice Baguma, and that the pending JSC complaint was not a legal bar to the judge continuing with the trial.
He added that similar accusations had been raised earlier before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate and described the accused as “serial complainants” who had spent more than 500 days on remand. Birivumbuka also said Captain Oola should have raised the identity issue at the time of his arraignment, adding that the prosecution would amend the charge sheet to correct his particulars. However, the defence team — led by Martha Karua, Erias Lukwago, and Ernest Kalibala — accused the state of attempting to “smuggle an application” to correct its procedural errors.
They maintained that their clients were wrongly arraigned before the Criminal Division instead of the ICD. Karua said the proceedings reflected a “choreographed pattern of illegalities” aimed at denying the accused a fair trial. Lukwago argued that calling the ICD referral a typing error was disingenuous, saying, “This is the least expected from a prosecutor. The ICD and Criminal Division are distinct; you cannot hear an ICD case simply because it appears in your registry.”
Kalibala reminded the court that Uganda’s 1995 Constitution guarantees the right to a fair hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal, which cannot be derogated under any circumstances. He said it was the duty of citizens like Besigye, Lutale, and Oola to protect the Constitution when their rights are threatened. Besigye, Lutale, and Captain Oola face treason charges for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.
The prosecution claims the trio held meetings in Geneva, Athens, Nairobi, and Kampala to solicit funds, acquire weapons, and plan paramilitary operations against the state. The state further alleges that Besigye met a Kurdish intelligence agent identified only as “AW” and received USD 5,000 to facilitate the transport of 36 Ugandan recruits to Kisumu, Kenya, for military training — a plan reportedly intercepted before execution.
Prosecutors also allege that Besigye sought to acquire surface-to-air missiles, ricin poison, counterfeit currency, and drone technology to assassinate President Yoweri Museveni. The state says it has supporting evidence, including audio and video recordings, social media messages, immigration records, and phone logs.