UGANDA: Court remands Kawempe North MP, as mother weeps

Kawempe North MP, Muhammad Ssegirinya’s mother, Justine Nakajumba, wept as the legislator and his Makindye West counterpart appeared before Masaka Grade one magistrate, Christine Nantege, on Friday morning and remanded until March 23 as investigations continued.

Nakajumba broke down in court begging the State to pardon her son whom she said was in pain and too sick to be in prison.

The two MPs have been on remand for over six months after they were arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and aiding and abetting terrorism in connection with last years spate of killings in Greater Masaka.

The mother of detained Kawempe North MP, Muhammad Ssegirinya broke down in court on Friday morning, begging the State to pardon her son whom she said was in pain and too sick to be in prison.

It was gathered that the state has slapped fresh charges of inciting violence against Ssegirinya who is on remand for other charges of murder, attempted murder and terrorism.

Ssegirinya was arraigned before grade one magistrate, Doreen Olga Karungi and charged with one offense of incitement to violence which he denied.

Court heard that between August and September 2020 while in Kampala, Ssegirinya alias Mr Update made statements on his Facebook page; ‘Ssegirinya Muhammad Fans Page’ calculated to incite the public to participate in violence against a section or group of Ugandans.

He is quoted by the prosecution to have posted. “I am warning those who are trying to assassinate Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu that what will happen will be forty times worse than the 1994 Rwandan genocide.”

About one million people in Rwanda are believed to have been slaughtered in ethnic cleansing within 100 days.

State attorney, Judith Nyamwiza told court that she was unable to inform court about the status of investigations because she didn’t have the police file.

Nyamwiza noted that she would be holding a brief meeting with another state attorney, Peter Mugisha who is handling this particular case because he is the one with the file that contains the status of inquiries.

But Ssegirinya, through his lawyers, Jonathan Kiryowa and Shamim Malende, asked court to be given a shorter date for adjournment such that they can be able to prepare sureties and their documents before they can seek bail. Malende added that the state should be ordered to expedite inquiries because her client is unwell.

Before the magistrate could adjourn the matter, Ssegirinya asked to be given an opportunity to display how he was tortured by people he described as goons recently when he was rearrested after being given bail by Masaka High court.

Permission was granted, and Ssegirinya dressed in a blue blazer, lifted his left leg and displayed to court his foot with multiple wounds that appeared to be drying steadily. The magistrate directed the prisons to give him medical treatment and thereafter inform court about the treatment progress.

But immediately after seeing the wounds, Ssegirinya’s mother Nakajumba broke down in tears in court and started wailing and she had to be lifted and taken outside by some of the people who had come to follow the proceedings.

Nakajumba wept as she said that her son should be forgiven by the state and appealed to President Yoweri Museveni to set Ssegirinya free, arguing that he didn’t know what he was doing when he made the alleged post.

Nakajumba who was by this time crawling on the floor said once Ssegirinya is set free, as a mother, she is going to counsel him to desist from participating in anything that may result into crime.

The case was then adjourned to October 29. Ssegirinya has been in prison since September 7, when he was arrested and remanded to Kigo prison together with his Makindye West counterpart Allan Ssewanyana.

This was after being charged with terrorism, aiding and abetting terrorism, murder and attempted murder stemming from their alleged involvement in the Greater Masaka region machete killings, which claimed more than 30 lives between July and September 2021.

Based on the presumption that they are innocent, Masaka High court lady justice Victoria Nakintu Katamba on September 20, granted them bail.

However, the duo was re-arrested immediately in separate incidents from the precincts of Kigo prisons.

Early this week, the two legislators through their lawyers filed fresh bail applications. However, justices Nakintu Katamba and Lawrence Tweyanze abstained from hearing their bail applications citing the complexity of their case files.

Ssegirinya has other unresolved charges of inciting violence pending before Buganda Road court in connection to his demonstration near Mini Price in March 2021 demanding the release of all political prisoners arrested in connection to the general elections.

But this case which was already in its advanced stages stalled when the trial magistrate went for maternity leave.

The display of alleged torture injuries by Ssegirinya comes barely two months after President Museveni warned the security agencies to desist from torturing suspects.

Museveni also said suspects on capital offenses such as murder and terrorism should not be granted bail and deserve to be killed.