It was another day of suspense for human rights lawyer Eron Kiiza, as High Court Judge Dr. Singiza Douglas deferred the ruling on his release.
Kiiza, who was locked up at Kitalya for nine months for contempt of the court martial, had appeared in court on Tuesday hoping for a breakthrough, only to be left hanging when the judge unexpectedly announced that today wasn’t the day for a ruling.
But the plot thickened when Judge Singiza later allowed the defense to make their case, leaving Kiiza’s legal team nervously waiting for justice.
Kiiza’s supporters packed the Civil Division of the High Court today, hoping to hear whether their client whose case was moved from the military court to the civil courts would walk free. But the clock ticked by with no verdict in sight.
Kiiza, once a free man, had been slapped with a nine-month prison sentence after the controversial court martial decision. His case was transferred to the civilian court system following a Supreme Court ruling, and today was supposed to be the day it all changed.
But Judge Singiza threw a wrench in the works, telling Kiiza’s lawyers , George Musisi and Kato Tumusiime that the ruling would be delivered by email or via WhatsApp groups, just like the recent ruling for Dr. Kizza Besigye. That ruling was dismissed.
The court handled two key habeas corpus applications, one from Kiiza’s own legal team and another from the Uganda Law Society, questioning the legality of Kiiza’s continued detention.
Kiiza’s team insists his detention is unlawful, especially after the Supreme Court ruling and his appeal against the court martial sentence. They argue that, by law, his case should have been transferred to the civil courts, and his continued imprisonment is illegal.
