High court issues production warrant for jailed lawyer Eron Kiiza

The High court in Kampala has issued a production warrant directing the officer in charge of Kitalya, Luzira, Kigo and Nakasongola prisons to produce lawyer Eron Kiiza before court this week for the hearing of his bail application. High court orders prisons to produce Ki

According to the order signed by the assistant registrar criminal division of the High court, Godfrey Ngobi Ssalaamu, Kiiza must be produced in court on March 25 at 9 am before justice Michael Elubu without fail.

Kiiza applied for bail about three weeks ago following his conviction by the army court for contempt of court earlier in January this year. Kiiza contends that he has a fixed place of abode at Central Kiwatule Zone, Kiwatule Ward, Nakawa Division, Kampala City, within the jurisdiction of the High court.

He told court that he has three sound and substantial sureties ready and willing to stand for him. They include his wife Sylvia Tumwebaze, an archives and data manager of Hima Cement, two lawyers including Dr Busingye Kabumba, a lecturer of Law at Makerere University and Primah Kwagala the executive director of Women’s Probono Initiative who are both his friends.

He says he is prepared to abide by all the conditions set by the court. Furthermore, Kiiza notes that he is a family man with three young children aged between 4 and 10 years who need him as a parent and keeping him in prison, he is likely to cause harm on both his parental and professional obligations as he is the sole partner at his law firm of Kiiza and Mugisha Company Advocates.

He also asked court to release him citing good conduct and his pending appeal which he believes has a high likelihood of success among other grounds.  However, the prosecution argues that the appeal is frivolous and has no possibility of success because this the High court has no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal.

The director of private prosecutions (DPP) also disputed Kiiza’s claim that his appeal will be substantially delayed due to the backlog in the court system. Kyomuhendo stated that the High court has a good record of disposing of cases.

As such, the DPP urged the court to deny Kiiza’s bail application, citing the need to maintain court decorum and uphold the integrity of the court process. Previously High court civil division judge Dr Douglas Singinza dismissed a habeas corpus application filed by Kiiza for lack of jurisdiction, stating that it had been wrongly filed. Kiiza was convicted on January 7, 2025, when he had gone to represent Dr Kizza Besigye and Hajji Obeid Lutale.

His evidence before court indicates that as he approached the bar, he was blocked, obstructed, and denied access by armed military personnel dressed in military police attire.

“When I demanded an explanation for my denial of access, none was given.This prompted me to insist on my right of access to the bar as an advocate,” said Kiiza.

Kiiza adds that within minutes, the court clerk violently pushed him away, and the military police orderlies descended on him with blows, kicks, fists, and batons.

“They violently dragged me from the courtroom to the dock while continuing to brutally assault me,” reads Kiiza’s affidavit.

Kiiza further states that after being forcibly removed from the dock and detained in the holding cells, the military police officers continued assaulting him until fellow inmates intervened.

He was subsequently convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to 9 months’ imprisonment, a sentence for which he has so far served more than two months at Kitalya Min-Max Prison.