High Court Dismisses Lukwago Bail Bid After Committal for Trial

Kampala, Uganda, July 30, 2026 - Justice David Matovu dismissed a bail application by city lawyer and Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, ruling it had been overtaken by his July 16 committal to the High Court on a charge of misprision of treason.

The application related to Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court Case No. 0762 of 2026, which ceased to exist after committal.

This detail was included in the mid-to-late July UGANDA briefing.

The court directed the criminal division’s deputy registrar to expedite allocation to a trial judge.

Lukwago, who had been among Besigye’s defence lawyers, was charged on June 17 with failing to report alleged treason plots involving opposition figures between 2021 and November 2024-an offence under Section 25 of the Penal Code that he denies.

Matovu separately held that a Mulago consultants’ report recommending specialised spinal care in India was insufficient without Uganda Prisons medical certification that the condition could not be managed in custody-the decisive barrier to medical bail.