Our fellow NUP MPs have abandoned us, say Sssewanyana, Ssegirinya

Incarcerated opposition Members of Parliament, Allan Ssewanyana of Makindye West  and Muhammed Ssegirinya of Kawempe North have accused their fellow National Unity Platform legislators of abandoned them since their arrest and subsequent imprisonment.

The two legislators were in September arrested and charged over the recent spate of murders in Greater Masaka region and are currently on remand at Kigo prison.

However, in a January, 01, 2022 letter to fellow NUP MPs through the officer in charge of Kigo main prison, the two opposition legislators say that the people they always termed as close friends have abandoned them during this trying moment.

“It beats our understanding that since our arrests and subsequent continued incarceration, the National Unity Platform Members of Parliament made a protest once by walking outside parliament premises and moving a motion on the state of our arrest. This kind of solidarity and action have ceased with the more days we continue being under incarceration. We are now less valued in the party and in your presence. There is no pressure mounted against the state by you honourable members from NUP party,” the two legislators say in the missive.

The two legislators say that whereas they are in parliament on the ticket of the NUP party, its members have not shown solidarity by standing with them in this trying moment when they face several charges against the state.

The two MPs also argue that they have now become the sacrificial lambs as their fellow NUP legislators enjoy life in parliament.

“We may be the sacrifice today and then tomorrow someone else from the same party falls in the same trap, we want to confess to all of you once again that we didn’t commit any of these preferred charges. We need your voices outside there for a remedy. We need mounted pressure for justice to prevail.”

Commenting about the matter, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga who also hails from the National Unity Platform said he had visited the two legislators and that they had not officially voiced their concerns to him.

"Despite interacting with them, they have not raised any matter in regards the alleged grievances that NUP has neglected them. Its is the NUP party that has been sending lawyers to represent the two MPs. It is also the party that has championed fair treatment for the two legislators,"Mpuuga said.

He insisted that the letter and reports of discontent by the two legislators are being peddled by self-seekers .

"It is being circulated by a certain group of people who want the public to believe that NUP leadership is not caring about the two MPs.  We are following the right path of the law to see the charges are dropped by the state. "

He insisted that the onus is on the state to prove that the two opposition MPs are guilty of the charges slapped against them noting that they will not negotiate their release.

Charges

The two opposition legislators were slapped with several charges related to terrorism, murder and attempted murder over their alleged role in the Greater Masaka machete killings where over 30 people were left dead by unknown assailants who hacked them using machetes.

The Chief Magistrates Court in Masaka has committed to High Court for trial on some of the charges.

According to the summary of evidence that the state availed to court and would be relied on in pinning the accused persons, there is CCTV footage allegedly captured from a restaurant and other places in Ndeeba linking the two legislators and other accused to planning the killings in Masaka.

The state is also set to produce in court call log records and statements recorded from some of the accused persons confessing to having taken part in the killings that rocked Masaka and also pin the co-accused and their role in the machete murders.

According to the indictment, the killings were politically motivated with an aim of discrediting government and that assailants were paid between shs50,000 and shs100,000 whenever they held meetings to plan the attacks.

The state says the meetings were held in Kampala.

Following the arrest of the legislators last year, their colleagues walked out of parliament in protest.

Many opposition MPs have since said the arrest of their colleagues is political.

http://nilepost.co.ug/2022/01/03/is-ssegirinya-that-easy-to-forget/

President Museveni last year advised opposition legislators to push for the speedy trial of colleagues Allan Ssewanyana and Muhammad Ssegirinya instead of storming out of parliament.

“I saw some politicians walked out of parliament because somebody has not got bail. If I was one of the suspects or even were members of my party and accused of such serious crime, I would press for working expeditiously to prove whether it is correct or not,” Museveni said in October.

“I would say, have a quick trial so that innocence comes out. That is what an honest person does. If suspect is innocent, those connected to him should push for expeditious trial. If you are innocent, demand a quick trial. Don’t demand impunity, untouchability but expeditious trial. But people don’t want the investigations to be concluded.”

Additional reporting by Moses Namayo

http://nilepost.co.ug/2021/10/02/push-for-speedy-trial-of-ssegirinya-ssewanyana-instead-of-boycotting-parliament-museveni-tells-opposition-mps/