Yasin ‘Machete’ Sekitoleko’s Bail Bid Dismissed by High Court

The High Court has dismissed a bail application filed by NUP activist Yasin Ssekitoleko also known as Machete on grounds that the Highcourt criminal division  lacks  jurisdiction to entertain the matter. 

Ssekitoleko’s case is among the first to test the implications of the 31st January  Supreme Court decision which banned the trial of civilians before military courts.

Justice Andrew Khaukha delivered the ruling, noting that although the Supreme Court mandated the transfer of civilian cases from the General Court Martial to ordinary courts,  such transfers must still comply with procedural safeguards under Uganda’s criminal justice system.

Justice Khauka  noted that the HighCourt cannot exercise jurisdiction over a matter that has not been properly brought before it through established legal procedures.

Ssekitoleko, who has spent over four years on remand at Luzira Murchison Bay Prison, applied for bail arguing that he was entitled to mandatory release given the lengthy detention without trial. He was initially charged before the Court Martial with treachery.

Ssekitoleko, a father of two and member of National Unity Platform (NUP), has been incarcerated at Luzira Prison for over four years without trial following his arrest after the 2021 general election.

Machete is part of 28 NUP supporters who were arrested in Kalangala District in 2021 while on the campaign trail of the NUP presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine.

However Justice Khaukha  explained that  all criminal proceedings must first be initiated before a magistrates’ court and its  only after committal that the High Court can acquire jurisdiction to entertain bail applications in capital offences.

The judge has then dismissed the bail  application for want of jurisdiction, directing that the matter be properly instituted through the civilian system .

The ruling makes Ssekitoleko’s application one of the first casualties of the inaction by the state to effect the Supreme court decision, confirming  that other political prisoners previously  charged before the Court Martial may face delays as their cases are re-channeled into the ordinary (civilian) court system .