Jail bird, city lawyer Hassan Male Mabirizi has petitioned Masaka High Court to halt the criminal trial of Kawempe North Member of Parliament Muhammad Ssegirinya and his Makindye West counterpart, Allan Ssewanyana until the Constitutional Court determines his petition challenging the legality of new charges preferred against them.
The legislators are jointly charged together with Wilson Ssenyonga for among others murder, attempted murder, terrorism, and abetting terrorism acts.
In his petition received by the Masaka High Court Registrar on Friday, Mabirizi wants the court to halt the planned hearing of the accused's third bail application.
On Tuesday, Masaka High Court Resident Judge Lawrence Tweyanze fixed between February 13th and 15th, 2023 to hear and determine the legislators' bail applications ahead of their prosecution.
However, Mabirizi argues that he petitioned the Constitutional Court and sued the Director of Public Prosecution-DPP, the Attorney General for slapping additional charges against the legislators, moments after they were released on bail for murder in September 2022.
When the police re-arrested the MPs in September 2022, the DPP instituted additional charges of murder and terrorism, noting that detectives had obtained evidence pinning them for the murder of Joseph Bwanika on August 02nd, 2021.
In his Constitutional Court petition, Mabirizi argues that the additional charges brought on a different criminal file amount to political persecution, which he says is unjustifiable in a free and democratic society and the interpretation of the constitutional court.
He also contends that the additional charges deprived the MPs of the Shillings 20 million they each paid for bail, arguing that this shouldn't have been the case had the state presented an amended charge sheet without necessarily re-arresting the MPs. Mabirizi wants the trial against the legislators halted until his constitutional court petition is determined.
