The Nakawa Chief Magistrate, Christine Nantege, has ruled that her court has no jurisdiction to hear the treason case against veteran opposition politician Dr. Kizza Besigye and his political ally, Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, following the case’s formal committal to the High Court. 

The ruling came after defense lawyers led by Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago filed an application to the Judicial Service Commission seeking the magistrate’s recusal from the case.

Following the ruling on Thursday, celebrations broke out in court among supporters and family members of Besigye and Lutale. 

Besigye and Lutale have been in jail for seven months, following their arrest in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2024, where they had traveled to attend the book launch by Kenya’s former Justice Minister, Martha Karua. The two were first charged before the General Court Martial on three counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and treachery, alleged to have been committed in Kenya, Greece, and Switzerland

However, in a January 31, 2025, landmark ruling, the Supreme Court declared that military courts have no jurisdiction to try civilians and ordered that all civilian cases in the military courts be transferred to civilian courts.

Besigye and Lutale were then produced before the Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court and charged with treason.

Treason, however, is a capital offense that is only tried by the High Court. 

During the last court appearance, the lead defense lawyer, Erias Lukwago, asked the Nakawa Chief Magistrate to recuse herself from the case after she declined to release Besigye and Lutale despite their spending six months on remand without committal to the High Court. 

Lukwago cited alleged bias, incompetence, and failure to impartially dispense justice by Nantege.

The magistrate’s actions, Lukwago said, raised serious questions about her impartiality in the matter before the defense team took a decision to drag her to the Judicial Service Commission.

In the same case, the state sought a court order to access the mobile phone data of Besigye and Lutale, arguing that it contained evidence that could implicate them. 

However, on Thursday, Nantege ruled that she has no jurisdiction to entertain the application since the matter has been overtaken by events after the accused persons were committed to High Court for trial.

By ChimpReports