Buganda Road Court has granted bail to Kampala Deputy Lord Mayor Doreen Nyanjura, veteran politician Ingrid Turinawe, and three other activists after spending three weeks on remand at Luzira Maximum Prison.
The group was arrested for leading a protest demanding the release of Dr. Kizza Besigye and other political prisoners as part of the ongoing #FreeBesigye campaign.
The case was presided over by Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko.
Their bail application, however, faced stiff resistance from the prosecution, which raised concerns about the suitability of the sureties presented in court. The state argued that some of the sureties had no legal authority over the accused and could not guarantee their return for trial.
During the bail hearing, the prosecution pointed out that one of the accused, identified as Iona, had a history of securing bail in multiple similar cases, alleging that she was “abusing the court’s bail process.”
The prosecution insisted that under bail guidelines, a repeated offender in related charges could be denied bail if there were reasonable grounds to suspect that they would abscond or continue engaging in illegal activities.
Additionally, the prosecution questioned the credibility of sureties presented by all the accused. It was argued that:
Some sureties were only friends of the accused, not close relatives, raising doubts about their ability to compel the activists to return to court.
In the case of Nangozi Faridah, another accused, her sureties were deemed insufficient, with the prosecution insisting that they lacked the necessary influence over her.
Turinawe’s sureties, including a local council leader and a close associate, were also challenged, with the state questioning whether their proximity to the accused would ensure compliance with bail conditions.
Despite these objections, the court ruled in favor of the accused, stating that they had a constitutional right to bail and that the prosecution had not provided compelling reasons to deny them their freedom. The activists were granted bail under specific conditions, including: Reporting back to court on scheduled hearing dates, Providing valid identification and addresses to ensure ease of tracking and refraining from engaging in any unlawful protests or activities that could lead to bail revocation.
Last week, the accused failed to appear before the same court because they declined to don on alternative clothes provided to them by the prisons authorities.
Relatives and friends were left stranded at the Buganda Road Court on Tuesday morning as prison authorities refused them.
The five women allegedly refused to wear alternative clothes provided by the prison instead of provocative t-shirt’s they donned on following their arrest.
At the time of their arrest, they wore T-shirts inscribed “Kill Me, Free Besigye”, a slogan authorities now seem determined to erase from public view.
Nyanjura, Turinawe, and their co-accused were arrested three weeks ago while mobilizing for the #FreeBesigye campaign, which sought the release of Dr. Kizza Besigye and other political detainees. Their arrest sparked public outcry, with opposition figures and human rights activists condemning what they called a crackdown on political freedoms.
The accused are expected to return to court for further proceedings as investigations into their alleged offenses continue.
