By The High Court has dismissed charges against 36 leaders of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), who were abducted last year in Kisumu, Kenya during a political training and later charged with terrorism-related offences.
Speaking during a press conference at the PFF party headquarters on Katonga Road, Kampala, party president and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago hailed the ruling as a landmark moment for justice in Uganda.
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Justice Susan Okalany dismissed the case after the state failed to commit the accused to trial within the mandatory six-month period. Lukwago described the ruling as “unprecedented,” emphasizing that it set a critical legal precedent: if the state fails to prepare committal documents within six months, the accused are discharged without further harassment.
“This case will go down in history,” Lukwago said. “Justice Okalany made it clear if the state fails to assemble and present evidence in time, the victims stop reporting and the matter ends.”
The 36 individuals had been charged as part of a broader treason case against former FDC president Dr. Kizza Besigye, with allegations that they were commissioned by him to receive terrorism training in Kisumu. Lukwago said the dismissal of the charges against the group undermines the state’s central argument in the treason case and called for the charges against Dr. Besigye to be dropped immediately.
Lukwago also demanded the judiciary expedite the bail application for Dr. Besigye, which was filed on April 17 but has yet to be heard. The application was allocated to Justice Wamala, but Lukwago said court officials have since failed to fix a date, leaving the veteran opposition figure and others in indefinite remand.
“Bail is a right,” Lukwago said. “The continued delay is unjustifiable, especially given that no credible evidence has ever been presented against these political prisoners.”
He also commended Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Chairperson Mariam Wangadya for recently ordering the release of detained Edward Ssebufu, aka Eddie Mutwe, but urged the commission to go further.
Lukwago cited Article 53 of the Constitution, which gives the UHRC powers equivalent to a court, including the ability to summon and commit individuals for contempt. He called on the commission to extend the order to cover all political prisoners, particularly those still held before the General Court Martial, in violation of a Supreme Court ruling that such cases should be tried in civilian courts.
He further demanded that Gen Muhoozi Keinerugaba, the CDF, be held in contempt for defying the UHRC’s order regarding Mutwe’s release.
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“If the UHRC wants to be taken seriously, they must show that their orders carry weight. Otherwise, they risk becoming a laughing stock,” he warned.
Lukwago further announced that the PFF, alongside East African allies led by Kenyan opposition leader senior counsel Martha Karua, would soon petition the International Criminal Court (ICC) over crimes against humanity committed by security forces across the region.
He said the petition would highlight enforced disappearances, torture, and political persecution not just in Uganda, but also in Tanzania, the DRC, and Kenya, where a legislator was recently shot in broad daylight.
“We are an endangered species,” Lukwago remarked. “Our team is preparing to move forward with this petition very soon.”
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