A brief moment of tension emerged in court during proceedings involving veteran opposition politician Kizza Besigye after he voiced strong concerns about what he termed unfair treatment of the defence team. The session was presided over by Justice Emmanuel Baguma.
Besigye told the court that the manner in which the proceedings were being conducted had placed the defence at a disadvantage, warning that they might consider staying away from court if the situation did not improve.
“If you continue treating us unfairly like this, we will stop coming to court,” Besigye said as the court prepared to determine which of the pending applications would be heard first.
The remarks came shortly before Justice Baguma ruled that the court would first consider an application by the state seeking protective measures for its witnesses, before addressing issues raised by the defence concerning the late filing and service of documents.
Defence lawyers argued that several members of their legal team had not been properly served with the prosecution’s documents.
Erias Lukwago told the court that some of the defence law firms received the documents only hours before the hearing began.
“Our chambers only received the documents yesterday at around 6:30pm,” Lukwago said, noting that the delay had limited the defence team’s ability to adequately prepare their response.
The defence maintained that timely and proper service of documents is critical to ensuring a fair hearing and urged the court to first resolve the issue before proceeding with the prosecution’s application.
However, Justice Baguma directed that the hearing would start with the state’s request regarding witness protection, adding that the concerns raised by the defence would be addressed afterward.
The exchange underscores the continuing procedural disagreements surrounding the case, as both the prosecution and defence remain at odds over aspects of how the proceedings are being conducted.
