Court proceedings involving veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye were briefly marked by tension after he protested what he described as unfair treatment during a session presided over by Justice Emmanuel Baguma.
Besigye told the judge that the defence team felt disadvantaged by the manner in which the proceedings were being handled, warning that they might stop attending court if the situation continued.
“If you continue treating us unfairly like this, we will stop coming to court,” Besigye said as the court prepared to determine the order in which pending applications would be handled.
The remarks came ahead of Justice Baguma’s decision to first hear the state’s application seeking protection for witnesses before addressing concerns raised by the defence regarding the late filing and service of documents.
Defence lawyers argued that several members of the legal team had not been properly served with the documents filed by the prosecution.
According to Erias Lukwago, some law firms representing the defence received the documents only hours before the hearing.
“Our chambers only received the documents yesterday at around 6:30pm,” Lukwago told court, raising concerns that the late service limited the defence team’s ability to adequately prepare their response.
The defence team maintained that proper service of documents is a fundamental requirement to ensure a fair hearing and asked the court to first address the issue before proceeding with the state’s application.
However, Justice Baguma ruled that the court would begin by hearing the prosecution’s request regarding witness protection, after which other matters raised by the defence would be considered.
The development adds to the legal contest surrounding the case, with both sides continuing to dispute procedural issues as the proceedings move forward.
