The Ugandan judiciary is in the crosshairs yet again, this time regarding the file of the case Dr Kizza Besigye instituted against the government over his continued house arrest.

In a seemingly calculated move to prolong Dr Besigye’s house arrest, the file has moved from the Magistrate’s Court to the High Court at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions, at a speed his lawyer David Mpanga described as abnormal and alarming.

“The whole process happened between 4am and 2.30pm. It is very abnormal,” said Mr Mpanga.

On February 26, Dr Besigye made an application to the Kasangati Magistrates Court against the Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura and Regional Police Commander for Kampala north Wesley Nganizi, seeking orders to have the police vacate the entrance to his home and free him.

Dr Besigye, who has been under house arrest since February 18, invoked provisions of the Police Act that safeguard persons against arbitrary arrest and detention.  

READ: Besigye condemns month of house arrest by Museveni's govt

Upon receipt of the application, the Magistrate’s Court presided over by Prossy Katushabe fixed March 17 as the hearing date, only for the file to be presented before court on March 9, in the absence of Dr Besigye’s lawyers. Blaming the court clerk for the carelessness, the magistrate dismissed the case filed by Besigye before reinstating it later.

But the hearing did not take place on March 17 as the DPP’s representative Caroline Nabaasa asked for more time to study the file.

When hearing resumed on March 18, the DPP objected to the Magistrate Court’s jurisdiction on grounds that Dr Besigye had filed a similar case in the High Court’s civil division and therefore a lower court could not proceed with the hearing of the criminal application.

The Magistrate’s Court overruled the DPP’s argument and heard the merits and demerits of the case — to free or not to free Dr Besigye on March 21. But as the hearing in the Magistrate’s Court was going on, the DPP was making an ex-parte application at the High Court, asking it to review the decision of the lower court to continue hearing Dr Besigye’s case. 

The High Court Registrar granted the DPP’s request. “Reference is made to the above matter in which the DPP has petitioned the High Court for a revision. You are requested to send the file to the High Court immediately,” reads a letter from the High Court, dated March 21, 2016, signed by High Court Criminal Division Deputy Registrar Eleanor M. Khainza.

On March 21, magistrate Katushabe forwarded the file and asked the High Court to acknowledge receipt of the same.

This kind of application is not irregular, but the motive behind the fast transfer of the file at the last minute – when a ruling was expected – is what is puzzling the lawyers and observers who turned up on March 22 at Kasangati Magistrate’s Court to hear the ruling.

Dr Besigye’s lawyers argue that the DPP could have waited for the ruling and then appealed against it if he was not satisfied.  The lawyers argue that the DPP’s choice of procedure will only serve to prolong Dr Besigye’s imprisonment.

“The Registrar who signed the letter was attending a workshop that day. We do not know how things work any more at the judiciary. We call upon the Chief Justice to take charge of his house. Besigye went to court to seek justice and this is what he gets,” said Yusuf Nsibambi, one of Dr Besigye’s lawyers.    

“I do not see any possibility of his being freed soon unless there is political pressure,” he added. “We cannot talk of fixing the case for hearing because it has become an ordinary matter and that now moves away from being a Dr Besigye case to being included in the list of all the many people languishing in the prisons over very long periods of time.”

During last week’s court proceedings, Dr Besigye’s supporters, some of whom carried placards reading “free our president,” unsuccessfully tried to reach his home for prayers but were blocked by the police.  

The Forum for Democratic Change, protesting Dr Besigye’s continued house arrest, has launched a prayer day every Tuesday at its offices around the country and announced a stay-home day every Thursdays.