Muhammad Ssegirinya, the late former Kawempe North Member of Parliament, left behind a tumultuous yet impactful career, marked by his unwavering commitment to justice and human rights amidst numerous legal battles.
Throughout his career, Ssegirinya found himself embroiled in a series of intense legal struggles, ranging from cases of inciting violence to winning election petitions, and even facing terrorism charges.
These challenges tested his resolve, yet he remained steadfast in his advocacy for the marginalized and oppressed, inspiring a generation of Ugandans to stand up for their beliefs.
Lawyer Steven Ssenkezi Ssali said, “Ssegirinya was an inspiring politician and a person who fought against all odds. This determination is something we will truly miss about him.”
In February 2023, Masaka High Court released Ssegirinya on bail after spending more than 16 months in prison without trial in connection with the machete killings in the Greater Masaka region.
He immediately sought treatment both locally and abroad. However, more than three years later, Ssegirinya’s trial has yet to commence.
His case has faced numerous adjournments, with the next hearing scheduled for March 17, 2025, at the International Crimes Division of the High Court.
He was jointly charged with his Makindye West counterpart Allan Ssewanyana and four others who remain in prison to this day.
Trouble for the legislators began on September 3, 2021, when the Commissioner of Police, Paul Kato Tumuhimbise, on behalf of the then Criminal Investigations Director Grace Akullo, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament summoning them.
The summon required them to appear before Detective Moses Taremwa at Masaka Police Station on September 6 and record statements in connection with the July and August 2021 Greater Masaka machete killings.
At least 26 people were killed, and several others injured by machete-wielding gangs in Lwengo and Masaka districts. The majority of the victims were elderly people living alone.
The police summons came days after the then Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, was quoted saying that some suspects arrested in connection with the machete attacks had implicated the legislators for holding planning meetings for the murders in Ndeeba, a Kampala suburb.
Enanga, who is now the Deputy Director of Interpol, was quoted saying that the suspects had revealed how the legislators had promised them wealth for executing the machete attacks, which prompted the police to summon the two to record statements.
Both Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana showed up at Masaka Central Police with their lawyers, including Kampala City Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Shamima Malende, where they recorded statements, were released on police bond, and asked to return the next day on September 7, 2021.
When the legislators showed up as directed the following day, they were dragged and arraigned before then Chief Magistrate Charles Yeteise (now retired), along with five others.
These read to them three counts of murder and attempted murder allegedly committed on August 23, 2021, at Ssetaala and Ssenya villages in Kimanya-Kabonera Division in Masaka City.
Their co-accused are Jackson Kanyike, John Mugerwa, Bull Wamala, Mike Sserwadda, and Jude Muwonge.
The prosecution told the court that the accused persons murdered Francis Kizza, Sulaiman Kakooza, and Tadeo Kiyimba and attempted to murder Ronald Ssebyato of Ssetaala village in Masaka City.
Yeteise did not allow the accused to take a plea, saying his court lacked jurisdiction over the matter, and remanded them to Kitalya Prison.
He ordered the prison authorities to return the suspects before the court on September 15, 2021, to check on the progress of investigations into the offenses.
When the suspects returned on September 15, 2021, the Director of Public Prosecutions amended the charge sheet and added additional charges of terrorism, aiding, and abetting terrorism.
Despite this, the accused persons, through their lawyers, applied for bail in the High Court, arguing that they were suffering from grave illnesses, including hypertension and complications of the kidney and liver, which could not be effectively managed inside prisons.
The suspects told the court that they were law-abiding citizens with permanent and fixed places of residence and no prior criminal record.
Consequently, Lady Justice Victoria Nakintu Katamba granted them cash bail of Shillings 20 million each. She also directed them to deposit their passports with the court.
However, the legislators were re-arrested in the precincts of Kigo Prison on separate occasions.
The legislators challenged their re-arrest and sought the enforcement of their human rights and compensation for the gross violations meted on them, but lost the case to the government.
Subsequently, on September 29, 2021, the state slapped the MPs with another charge for the murder of Joseph Bwanika, a resident of Kiseka B Village, Kankamba Parish, Kiseka Sub County in Lwengo, and arraigned them before Masaka Grade One Magistrate, Grace Wakooli.
The MPs made a second attempt to secure bail on the fresh charge. However, Masaka High Court Judge Lawrence Tweyanze declined to release them on October 25, 2021, saying this could jeopardize the ongoing investigations given their influence in the community.
Tweyanze, however, issued express instructions to the prison authorities to ensure that the MPs received the required medical services for their respective health conditions.
From that time to March 28, 2022, the MPs remained on remand, reporting to the court monthly to receive updates on the status of investigations into their case.
They were then arraigned before Masaka Grade One Magistrate Christine Nantege, who informed them that investigations were complete and committed the case to the International Crimes Division of the High Court for trial.
Around that time, social media started reporting Ssegirinya’s death moments after he had been hospitalized at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Ssegirinya’s mother fainted and shed uncontrollable tears, appealing to the President to pardon her son, whom she claimed was innocent.
Following his death at Lubaga Hospital, our reporter cannot imagine the mood in which Ssegirinya’s mother is now.
The MPs later lodged an appeal before the Court of Appeal seeking to be granted bail.
On June 29, 2022, the Court of Appeal Justices, including Cheborion Barishaki, Christopher Izama Madrama (who is now in the Supreme Court), and Eva Luswata, denied them bail, saying they lacked jurisdiction to entertain their application.
The same Justices noted that Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana had spent a long time on remand without being tried.
They directed the preparation of all files involving the legislators so that they could be taken to the Principal Judge to expedite their trial and enforcement of their human rights.
Later, Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa, one of the lawyers representing Ssegirinya, revealed that a copy of this order was extracted and served to the Principal Judge.
According to Muyizzi, they expected the judiciary to deploy another judge to hear the matter expeditiously once the presiding judge was transferred, but this was in vain.
Muyizzi told our reporter at the time that he believed everything happening in this case was already predetermined.
This came after the court informed the lawyers that the pretrial judge of the International Crimes Division, Jane Elizabeth Alidviza, had been transferred and they would be informed of the next judge to preside over the matter.
Ssegirinya and his co-accused were then kept on remand until their case was allocated to Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha.
As this was ongoing, the accused’s lawyers, including Lukwago and Company Advocates, Alaka and Company Advocates, and Malende and Company Advocates, wrote to the court seeking the consolidation of two criminal files in the matter so that they could be heard together.
They argued that if the consolidation was not done, the Honorable Court might give two conflicting decisions on a common theme, set of circumstances, and common questions of law and fact, which would prejudice the applicants.
According to the lawyers, the move was intended to avoid a multiplicity of proceedings on similar matters in the interest of justice.
Several other applications were filed in this case, including an application by the state seeking to protect witnesses during the trial, an application by lawyer Male Mabirizi.
Mabirizi sought to halt the proceedings pending the determination of his constitutional petition challenging the legality of presenting separate files with almost identical details against the suspects, and a new bail application.
The bail was eventually granted again in February 2023, and Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana were released from prison.
However, when they were re-arrested after their bail release, their lawyers, including Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa, Shamim Malende, and Kassim Sekalema, petitioned the High Court seeking compensation of Shs 300 million and release from prison.
They argued that their clients were illegally imprisoned. The lawyers told the court that the legislators were illegally re-arrested after being granted bail by Justice Victoria Katamba and fulfilling all the bail terms, including paying Shs 20 million each.
Court heard that Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana were tortured and manhandled to the extent of inflicting bruises and deadly injuries on their bodies, which was inhuman, degrading, and a violation of their human rights enshrined in the constitution.
However, the prosecution, led by Richard Birivumbuka, opposed their application, stating that the two were properly in jail at Kigo Prison because they had pending murder charges on which Masaka High Court Judge Lawrence Tweyanze had denied them bail and ordered that they be remanded until the hearing of their case.
In June 2022, Justice Elizabeth Alidviza ruled that the manner in which MPs were rearrested was irregular and inhumane.
However, she declined to order the government to compensate them, citing pending murder charges.
She noted that the MPs were in lawful custody at Kigo prison and that the request for a declaration of unlawful custody and their release pending trial was unattainable.
Apart from the serious charges, Muhammad Ssegirinya’s political life was marked by frequent arrests, many of which were related to accusations of inciting violence.
His legal battles began early when, as a Lord Councillor to the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), he was involved in incidents that led to violent confrontations.
At one point, Ssegirinya was accused of jumping the fence of KCCA to attack the neighboring Parliament.
Upon winning the 2021 elections, he mocked security forces, who had previously chased him from Parliament, declaring that, as an elected Member of Parliament, he would now easily enter through the main gate.
On March 22, 2021, Ssegirinya was arrested from Mini Price in downtown Kampala during a protest contesting the results of the January 14 presidential election.
The protest also called for the release of National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters detained across the country.
For this case, he spent considerable time in Luzira Prison before securing temporary release and the eventual dismissal of charges by Buganda Road Court for lack of evidence.
Despite this, the state kept him incarcerated, and he participated in court hearings via a Zoom link. Ssegirinya’s social media activity also sparked legal controversies.
He was accused of inciting violence through a Facebook post that threatened violence against those allegedly attempting to assassinate NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi.
The post, in which Ssegirinya warned that the consequences would be “forty times worse than the 1994 Rwandan Genocide,” attracted serious charges.
The prosecution alleged that his statement was a deliberate attempt to provoke public violence.
Ssegirinya maintained his innocence, but his case highlighted the intersection of social media, politics, and legal challenges in Uganda.
In 2020, he was also arraigned before the Jinja Grade One Magistrate, charged with inciting violence related to his Facebook posts after the arrest of Robert Kyagulanyi in Luuka District.
His time in Nalufenya police cells before being remanded to Kirinya Prisons became another chapter in his troubled legal journey.
Ssegirinya’s election disputes were also contentious. In 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld his election as the Member of Parliament for Kawempe North, despite a petition filed by his rival Sulaiman Kidandala.
Kidandala accused Ssegirinya of lacking the academic qualifications to hold office, as the law requires candidates to have A-level education or its equivalent.
Kidandala’s legal team also alleged that Ssegirinya’s academic documents were forged and that his nomination did not comply with other electoral requirements.
The legal battles regarding Ssegirinya’s candidacy became complicated when his lawyers failed to serve him with the petition while he was in prison.
The High Court approved an application for substituted service, allowing Kidandala’s lawyers to serve Ssegirinya through prison officials.
However, this process was further complicated when Kidandala’s legal team failed to serve Ssegirinya or obtain the necessary acknowledgement from the prison.
The Electoral Commission successfully argued for the dismissal of the petition on the grounds of improper service.
Despite the legal setbacks, Ssegirinya was declared the winner of the election with 41,197 votes, defeating Kidandala, who garnered 7,512 votes.
However, Kidandala’s team continued their legal battle, alleging irregularities in Ssegirinya’s nomination, including issues with his voter registration and forged academic documents.
The case became a political flashpoint, with the allegations adding to Ssegirinya’s already troubled public image.
In 2024, the International Crimes Division of the High Court suspended proceedings in the terrorism case involving Ssegirinya and his Makindye West counterpart, Allan Ssewanyana.
A letter from the Aga Khan Hospital in Kenya, detailing Ssegirinya’s critical illness, prompted the court’s decision to pause the trial for medical reasons.
The letter, signed by Dr. Abel Akanyijuka on behalf of Dr. Adil Salyani, indicated that Ssegirinya had been under their care since December 23, 2023. Despite initial signs of improvement, his condition deteriorated, necessitating continued hospital care.
The medical records presented to the court outlined a diagnosis of Hepatic Cholangiopathy and Cryptococcal Meningitis, conditions caused by a lung-to-brain infection.
His deteriorating health led to his urgent transfer to St. Francis Nsambya Hospital and a subsequent recommendation for treatment abroad.
Due to the complexity of his condition, an air ambulance was used to transport him to the more affordable Aga Khan Hospital in Kenya, bypassing the need for international travel to the Netherlands.
Ssegirinya’s case also involved political tensions, as government officials had to request authorization for foreign currency to fund his medical treatment.
His legal and medical journey became emblematic of the struggles faced by opposition politicians in Uganda, with accusations of political persecution and human rights violations being central to his narrative.
The court acknowledged the torture allegations raised by Ssegirinya and his co-accused, prompting Judge Komuhangi to halt the trial until these issues could be addressed.
The terrorism charges against him were seen as a significant blow to his political career, but he maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal.
Ssegirinya’s lawyer, Samuel Muyizzi, suggested that when an individual dies, the charges against them are typically dropped, hinting at the possibility that his client’s health might prevent him from standing trial in the future.
Despite the controversies and legal battles, Ssegirinya will be remembered by many as a jolly person and a voice for the voiceless people of Kyebando.
He is remembered to have said that when he is dead, people should not say that he should rest in Peace but instead say; “FIGHT HARD!
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