KAMPALA- Lawyer Eron Kiiza, who represents opposition figure Kizza Besigye, has been sentenced to nine months in prison by the General Court Martial for “gross professional misconduct. The court found him guilty of “banging the angle bars and not listening to the chairman of the court.
This incident occurred on January 7, 2025, at the General Court Martial at Makindye Military Barracks in Kampala during the hearing of Dr. Kiiza Besigye’s case and his co-accused Kamulegeya Lutale.
Kiiza, who was in the morning thrown into the caged dock where his clients Besigye and his associate Obeid Lutale were, was brought to the court after the lunch adjournment in handcuffs. He has been ordered locked up at Kitalya Prison.
Samuel Muyizi, another defence lawyer, said Kiiza had been tortured during the break and that his arm was dislocated. “He said they [military personnel had attempted to strangle him.” Muyizi said.
His sentence was passed without a trial, contrary to basic principles of the justice system even in a military court. With deep concerns over the conduct of the military court that is largely seen as kangaroo by critics, the sentencing of Mr Kiiza without a hearing will be seen as a major abuse of the fundamental rights of the lawyer.
Critics have argued for years that the military court has no jurisdiction to try civilians and that military men treat civilians like military personnel when in the court martial.
The controversial jailing of Mr Kiiza, who has clashed with Judge Advocate Brigadier-General Richard Tukacungurwa over procedural matters, could leave the Judiciary on the ropes after the Supreme Court failed to rule on an appeal against the Constitutional Court’s stripping of military courts of the right to try civilians.
