Embattled Dr Kizza Besigye has once again spent Christmas behind the bars of Luzira prison after the High Court deferred a ruling in his case to later this month.
According to a formal communication issued by the Criminal Division of the High Court in Kampala, the ruling in Criminal Application No 814 of 2025, which had been scheduled for delivery on December 23, was not ready as earlier indicated by the trial judge.
“The ruling in the above application will not be ready today, December 23, 2025, as earlier communicated by the trial Judge,” the letter addressed to counsel for both parties reads.
The court further informed the parties that the ruling will instead be delivered on December 29, 2025, at 11 00 am in open court, in the presence of the applicants, their lawyers, and the respondent.
“However, the trial Judge has directed me to inform you that the ruling will be delivered on 29th December 2025 at 11 00 am in the presence of the Applicants and their Counsel and the Respondent, not by email,” the Assistant Registrar stated.
The court also confirmed that a production warrant has been issued to ensure Dr Besigye is brought to court on the new date.
“I have been further directed by the trial Judge to issue a production warrant for December 29, 2025,” the letter adds.
Dr Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate and one of the most prominent critics of President Yoweri Museveni’s government, was arrested in November 2024 following circumstances that sparked regional and international attention. He was detained after being seized in Nairobi, Kenya, where he had travelled to attend a public event, before being transferred to Uganda and arraigned before a military court alongside his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale.
The initial charges related to unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition and allegations of soliciting military assistance from a foreign country. The use of a military court to try a civilian triggered sharp criticism from opposition politicians, lawyers and human rights organisations, eventually resulting in the matter being transferred to the civilian courts.
Since his arrest, Dr Besigye has been produced in court multiple times, both before the military tribunal and later in the High Court, as his lawyers challenged the legality of his detention, the jurisdiction of the courts and the nature of the charges against him. Court records and media reports indicate that he has been brought to court on more than half a dozen occasions in relation to this case, including mentions, applications for bail and jurisdictional challenges.
The latest application, which is now awaiting a ruling on December 29, is part of a series of legal efforts by his defence team seeking relief from continued detention. The postponement means that, like in previous years, Dr Besigye will mark Christmas from a prison cell rather than with his family.
This is not the first time the opposition stalwart has spent the festive season in custody. Dr Besigye previously spent Christmas in prison during the mid 2000s when he faced treason and rape charges that were later dismissed, and again during earlier periods of political confrontation with the state.
His continued incarceration has remained a rallying point for opposition supporters, who argue that the repeated arrests and prolonged court processes are politically motivated. Government officials, on the other hand, maintain that the matter is strictly legal and that the courts should be allowed to conclude the process without interference.
As Ugandans celebrate Christmas, attention now turns to December 29, when the High Court is expected to pronounce itself on an application that could determine whether Dr Besigye remains in custody as the country edges closer to another politically charged year.
