The bail application made by MPs Allan Sewanyana of Makindye West and Muhammad Ssegirinya of Kawempe North has been denied by the Court of Appeal.
On Wednesday, the Court ordered the State to quickly schedule their capital offenses for trial.
Cheborion Barishaki, Christopher Izama Madrama, and Eva Luswata, a trio of judges, ruled that the Court of Appeal lacks jurisdiction.
This came after the MPs filed a plea to overturn the judge’s ruling in the High Court denying them release after over a year on remand.
During the height of the killings in Greater Masaka, which took the lives of 20, Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana were captured.
After receiving bail, they were promptly detained again on September 23 and 26, respectively, as they were leaving Kigo prison.
Judge Lawrence Tweyanze of the Masaka High Court denied their request for bail on October 25, 2021, on the grounds that the MPs will obstruct the prosecution’s case and investigations.
Erias Lukwago and Shamim Malende challenged the decision through their attorneys under the direction of Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi.
The MPs were informed today by Justices of the Court of Appeal that they lack jurisdiction to hear their petition.
They are accused of killing someone, trying to kill someone, and supporting terrorism.
David Lewis Rubongoya, the secretary general of the National Unity Platform (NUP), described the court’s ruling as “difficult.”
The Court of Appeal decided this morning that it lacks authority to hear an appeal on a bail application denial by the High Court. Especially in the Ssewanyana, Ssegirinya case, where all appeals to the High Court have been unsuccessful, this ruling is particularly troublesome, he stated.
