Eron Kiiza, the jailed lawyer for opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale, has said there have been attempts to convince him to apologize to the national army, the UPDF, whose Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) is President Yoweri Museveni’s son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Kiiza was sentenced to nine months imprisonment last week after the General Court Martial in Makindye, Kampala, convicted him of contempt of court in a ruling that shook the nation.
He was part of the tens of lawyers representing Besigye and Lutale who face charges of undermining national security, illegal possession of firearms and treachery following their abduction from Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2024.
Kiiza says that when Uganda Law Society (ULS) president Isaac Ssemakadde recently visited him, he told him he would improve his chances of regaining his freedom if he apologized to the UPDF, for which the military court was established with the view of trying soldiers charged with cases of indiscipline.
But Kiiza insisted he would not apologize for doing the right thing, adding that it should be the UPDF and military court to apologize to him.
“[Ssemakadde] was here… and he asked me to apologize to the leadership of the army. Of course, he didn’t say to Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, but it’s obvious that that’s what he meant,” Kiiza told local news agency URN.
“I was tortured badly by the military when they detained me at the General Court Martial. It is they who have to apologize for violating my rights. That option of apologizing to them is totally off the table… I, Eron Kiiza, can’t negotiate with anybody over my rights.”
On the options on his table, Kiiza further told the news agency that his lawyers would appeal the decision of the Museveni military court in the Court Martial Appeal Court.
Also, law don Prof Christopher Mbaziira is filing a human rights enforcement application while another law don, Dr Busingye Kabumba, was working on a constitutional petition.
It should be remembered that in a shocking show of power, the army arrested Kiiza before the Museveni military court ruled that he should spend nine months behind bars. Some of those who have visited Eron Kiiza have revealed some worrying details on the fearless lawyer’s health condition. (See Details Here and There).
DPP Speaks on Calls of Taking Over Besigye Case from Museveni Military Court
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