Ssegirinya, Ssewanyana to resume Parliament today National Unity Platform MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana have revealed they will resume plenary in Parliament on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. The legislators said their appearance in the August House is to appreciate Ugandans for piling pressure on the judiciary to secure their release. The duo was granted […]
Ssegirinya, Ssewanyana to resume Parliament today
National Unity Platform MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana have revealed they will resume plenary in Parliament on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
The legislators said their appearance in the August House is to appreciate Ugandans for piling pressure on the judiciary to secure their release. The duo was granted cash bail of 20 million shillings each in February 2023 after nearly 16 months on remand for charges related to attempted murder, murder, and terrorism following their re-arrest on September 7th, 2021.
While appearing before the International Crimes Division of High Court in Kololo for the hearing of an application to halt trial in two courts (Masaka and Kampala), Ssewanyana opened up about his health condition before later divulging that he would be present in parliament for the first time in over two years.
The Mp told journalists outside court that he is still battling a life threatening blood clot under his lung. He however said that will not deter him from going about his normal business but with extra caution.
Ssewanyana explained that they will first interface with the leader of opposition in parliament Hon. Mathias Mpuuga before attending plenary.
He mentioned missing participation in the passing of several bills like the most recent Anti-Homosexuality bill 2023, the National Sports Bill and Landlord/Tenants Bill, among others.
However, the High Court Justice Alice Komuhangi ruled that the court will not consolidate the two applications filed by legislators Allan Ssewanyana and Muhammad Ssegirinya and that of lawyer Male Mabirizi.
In 2021, the MPs were indicted on charges of terrorism, murder, and attempted murder, over killings in the greater Masaka districts. They were charged alongside four others including Mike Sserwadda, Wamala Bulo, John Mugera and Jackson Kanyike.
However, while their co-accused were committed to the International Crimes Division of the High Court, ,the MPs who had additional charges of murder had their files split, and one was committed for trial before the Masaka High Court.
Ssegirinya, Ssewanyana to resume Parliament today
As a result, Mabirizi petitioned the Constitutional Court challenging the legality of splitting and distributing these files to two different courts yet they result from one set of facts.
The lawyers also applied to the Constitutional Court to interpret whether the act of proceedings based on similar charges with similar facts in different courts of Masaka and ICD in Kampala does not cause double jeopardy and miscarriage of justice.
However, when the applications came up today to see if it was possible to consolidate them, the MPs’ lawyers led by Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa told her that it was going to be difficult for them.
Muyizzi said he didn’t know how to proceed with consolidation as in Mabirizi’s application, his clients are respondents, yet in another, they are the applicants. He added that he didn’t want to be seen as objecting to Mabirizi’s application but needed further guidance from his clients Ssewanyana, who was in court, and Ssegirinya, who was absent, on how to proceed, saying it’s practically impossible. As a result, Judge Komuhangi has agreed with Muyizzi and said she would hear each application separately, even though they all seek a similar prayer for halting the trial.
Ssegirinya, Ssewanyana to resume Parliament today
