Nakawa Chief Magistrates court turned ecstatic with celebrations from supporters and family of veteran opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale after Her worship Christine Nantege declaring that her court had jurisdiction in the treason case since it was already committed to the High Court.
Her worship Nantege’s ruling came when Dr Besigye and Lutale had returned to the court for a ruling on their request for her to rescue herself from the matter which they submitted recently.
Nantege further declined to rule both on the recusal application and state’s request to access Dr Besigye’s phones.
Dr. Besigye was formally charged in a civilian court alongside Hajj Obeid Lutale in February, after a Supreme Court decision barred the trial of civilians in military courts.
In May, the court denied mandatory bail for Besigye and his co-accused, despite them fulfilling all legal conditions citing lack of jurisdiction, directing the defense to seek bail through the High Court instead.
Recently Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale through their lawyers sought for the removal of Nantege from their case accusing her of incompetence, abuse of judicial oath and Judicial malpractice.
In a petition to the Judicial Service Commission, through their lawyers today, the duo raise accusations of misconduct and procedural violations after Nantege committed them, alongside Capt Denis Oola without legal representation in the treason case against them.
While addressing journalists after today’s hearing, Dr Besigye’s lawyer, Erias Lukwago said her worship Nantege had no choice but terminate the proceedings against the two in the lower court after carrying out the committal proceedings on 29th of May, which was a waste of time in the legal team’s efforts to secure their freedom.
“It’s obvious that once one has been committed to the high court for trial, you cannot reopen the case for investigation it’s a no brainer! Even an ordinary lay person could know this, that the jurisdiction of this honorable court is exhausted at a time when committal proceeding s are conducted, it had become a functus officio”
Lukwago noted that the case being heard by the high court is a big blow to the state, “They wanted this evidence to support their challenges and it’s the reason they put in this application so that court may put an order to allow them access the data on Dr Besigye and Obeid Lutale’s phones which court has now rejected because they have no jurisdiction”.
