Norbert Mao, the minister of justice and constitutional affairs, expressed sorrow that the decision to give bail to Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana, two members of parliament, was long delayed and tainted by political influence.
After 15 months on remand following the suspected murder of 20 individuals in the Greater Masaka region in August 2021, Masaka High Court Judge Lawrence Tweyanze freed Ssegirinya, the Kawempe North Constituency MP, and his counterpart Ssewanyana, Makindye West Division MP, on February 13th, 2023.
Due to the pair’s deteriorating health, the judge granted them bail so they could access medical care. The suspects paid a cash bond of 20 million shillings and turned up their passports to the court, but their sureties were required to pay a non-cash bond of 50 million shillings.
At a press conference on Tuesday at the Democratic Party’s DP headquarters in Kampala, Mao stated that the refusal of the accused to post bail and their continued detention by the State violated their right to due process guaranteed by Article 23(6) of the 1995 Constitution and constituted “no longer prosecution but persecution.”
According to Mao, he quietly arranged for the release of the two legislators and other prisoners, not for any “political advantage,” but rather for the benefit of the families of the prisoners who frequently sought him about their missing breadwinners since their case had become “hyper politicized.”
The Minister criticized several opposition political party leaders who “meet” President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in private for deals yet denounce dialogue and negotiation, calling them “opportunists and hypocrites” without naming any specific individuals.
Mao, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party-DP, who was chosen by Museveni to run the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in July 2022, criticized those who resist dialogue as a nonviolent means of fostering a democratic and peaceful society.
Mao’s assessment comes in response to a statement made by Mathias Mpuuga, leader of the opposition in parliament, in which he dissociated himself from any discussions that resulted in the release of the two lawmakers.
The opposition National Unity Platform’s (NUP) president, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine, also reiterated the party’s position in a statement dated February 16, 2023, saying that the party would not “beg Museveni and his criminal regime” to negotiate bail, which is entirely a court process.
Bobi Wine referred to the release of the NUP MPs, whose freedom is contingent on talks with President Museveni, as disgraceful and ludicrous, which illustrates the amount of impunity and lawlessness practiced by the NRM government.
