The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has launched a thorough investigation strategy into the Martial Court’s controversial detention of their fellow advocate on Tuesday January 7, 2025.
The strategy which involves consultative talks with senior official chief justice Owiny Dollo and Kenyan counsel Martha Karua seeks to achieve justice for embattled city lawyer Eron Kiiza.
Counsel Eron Kiiza found himself handed a nine-month prison sentence for contempt by the General Court Martial in Makindye where he had gone to represent Dr Kiiza Besigye.
In a statement dated January 8, 2025, the society President, Isaac Ssemakadde said that ULS will send a delegation to the chief justice to counsel Martha Karua and another to Eron Kiiza.
“A third delegation will meet with the Chief Justice of Uganda, Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, to demand expeditious delivery of the Supreme Court’s judgment in Attorney General vs. Michael Kabaziguruka, a case that bears direct relevance to the jurisdiction of military courts over civilians,” the statement read.
In issuing these decrees, Ssemakadde expressed ULS’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring fair judicial processes.
“The Society remains steadfast in its duty to represent, protect, and assist members of the legal profession in Uganda as regards conditions of practice and otherwise, as enshrined in Section 3(c) of the Uganda Law Society Act, Cap 305,” Ssemakadde said.
In addition to the visit, other delegates will be dispatched to visit Kiiza at Kitalya Government Prison to assess the circumstances of his incarceration and explore potential remedies and Court Martial representatives.
The ULS vowed to issue a comprehensive statement after completing its consultations and reviewing the findings.
In a chaos that ensued during the trial hearing of Dr Kiiza Besigye and Co accused Hajji Obedi, Eron Kiiza, one of the 40 defense lawyers now faces 9 months in Kitalya Prison over gross professional misconduct.
The incident sparked debates over the legitimacy of military courts handling civilian cases, with critics labeling such courts as ‘kangaroo courts’ that deny civilians basic rights.
