Rubaga North councilor elect released on bail

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Rubaga North Lord councillor elect, James Mubiru is finally out on bail.  The Makindye based General Court-Martial released Mubiru on Tuesday after spending close to five months in jail following his arrest in March 2021 for unauthorized use of military uniform.

His release followed a successful bail application filed by his lawyers Anthony Wameli and Geoffrey Turyamusiima to the Military court chaired by Lt. General Andrew Gutti. In their application, the lawyers argued that their client had spent a long time in detention without knowing when his trial will commence.

They also told the court that the accused has no criminal record and has substantial sureties. Mubiru Noah Lumala, Sepiria Kabuuka and Fauzia Nabirye, all relatives were his sureties. The lawyers also argued that their client had never taken the oath of office to represent his electorate ever since he was elected as Rubaga North councillor.

The army prosecutor Ambrose Guma told the court that he had instructions to leave the matter up to the court to make a decision on the bail application. As a result, the court took a break of about ten minutes and decided to release him on bail of Shillings 10 million not in cash.

Each of his sureties executed a non-cash bond of Shillings 20 million. Gen. Gutti directed Mubiru not to go beyond Kampala and Wakiso districts without the express permission of the Court Registrar. He also directed him to report twice to court every after 14 days, saying any breach of any of the conditions would lead to the automatic cancellation of his bail.

In July 2021, Mubiru’s lawyers filed an application before the High Court in Kampala demanding the unconditional release of their clients on grounds that he had spent more than 120 days without the trial kicking off and therefore qualified for unconditional release under the law.

On July 28th 2021, High Court Judge Boniface Wamala dismissed another application by Mubiru’s lawyer’s to push an expeditious trial, arguing that there were very many people in the same category as Mubiru in detention.

How it all started 

Mubiru was picked up on November 18, 2020, in Nakulabye Kampala city where he was allegedly found wearing a red beret, which is a monopoly of the Defense Forces. He appeared before the seven-member panel of the General court-martial on March 22, 2021, where he was charged with unauthorized use of a military uniform under the UPDF Act of 2005.

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