The High Court Criminal Division has dismissed an application by former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago seeking release on bail pending trial on charges of misprision of treason.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Judge David Matovu held that the application could not succeed because it had been filed in relation to proceedings before the Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court, which had since ended after the case was committed to the High Court for trial.
Justice Matovu noted that Lukwago had satisfied several of the requirements for bail.
The court found that he has a fixed place of abode in Rubaga, presented four substantial sureties, and that the prosecution’s claims that he would abscond or interfere with witnesses were speculative.
The judge also acknowledged that Lukwago suffers from several chronic medical conditions and had been examined by a team of specialist consultants at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
The consultants recommended, among other interventions, that he undergo a spinal review by his primary surgeons in India.
However, the court held that the medical evidence was insufficient because it had not been certified by a Uganda Prisons medical officer confirming that prison medical services were incapable of managing his condition.
Justice Matovu further observed that the criminal case before the Makindye Chief Magistrate had ceased to exist after committal to the High Court and that the newly committed case had not yet been assigned to a judge for case management.
He directed the Deputy Registrar to allocate the criminal session file to a judge, who will thereafter handle the case, including any future bail applications.
Lukwago’s bail application was consequently dismissed.
