Sheikh Siraje Kawooya denied bail, Court orders for expeditious hearing

Court of Appeal Judge Christopher Madrama has frustrated Sheikh Siraje kawoya’s hopes of temporary release from incarceration after he dismissed his bail application pending hearing of his appeal.

Madrama concluded reading “in the premises the applicants application is therefore dismissed.”

Justice Madrama declined to grant the bail arguing that Kawooya who was convicted of terrorism is serving the second most severe sentence after death, which is life in prison and therefore couldn’t be released.

Madrama added that such sentence and the grave nature of the offense of terrorism also restricted the court from temporarily releasing him.

The judge also disqualified Kawooya’s arguments of ill health, presumption of innocence and the possibility of delay in execution of the appeal.

He explained that the applicant couldn’t benefit from the provision of presumption of innocence since he was already convicted something that greatly reduced his chances of being presumed innocent.

Although Kawooya had expressed fears that his appeal maybe delayed for various circumstances, he still wouldn’t be granted bail because the law provided that the ground be considered if court delays may result into one’s appeal not being heard before the period of his sentence ends.

Kawooya had raise grounds of ill health which were downplayed by court as the judge said that there is no medical form on record indicating that Kawooya can only be fully medicated from outside of prison nor that the prison facilities would not treat him.

The court also disqualified five of Kawooya’s sureties as non-substantial sureties.

Friday Kagoro who is Kawooya’s lawyer said he is re-applying for the bail prayer to be heard by a panel of three judges of the appellant court arguing that the current judge has erred in law when he argued that his client cannot be presumed innocent yet he appealed.

Sheikh Siraje Kawooya was convicted of terrorism in august 2017 in relation to a spite of killings of various Muslim clerics of a rival Muslim faction, after which he was sentenced to jil for the rest of his natural life.

Kawooya alongside his co-accused contested he sentence running to the court of appeal challenging both the conviction and sentence.