National Unity Platform President Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has accused Mr. Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Uganda’s Chief Justice, of leading a judiciary complicit in the political persecution and eventual death of Hon. Muhammad Ssegirinya.
Ssegirinya a member of Bobi Wine’s party and Parliament Member. He died on January 9, 2025.
On September 3, 2021, Ssegirinya was summoned by Uganda police force to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department for questioning over his alleged involvement in rebel activities in Greater Masaka region.
Also, on September 17, 2021, the Masaka Chief Magistrate’s court ordered his detention on four charges: three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He was subsequently held at Kitalya Maximum Security Prison. However, evidence supporting these allegations was not provided.
Bobi Wine’s statement follows Owiny-Dollo’s defence of the judiciary, where he cited examples of the courts upholding justice, including granting Bobi Wine bail in 2021, in response to accusations of judicial impartiality.
Reacting to that, Bobi Wine in a post on Wednesday, said, “I have taken note of your response to my assertion that the judiciary you lead is complicit in the political persecution and eventual death of Hon. Muhammad Ssegirinya.
“Like I said at his burial, the judiciary and everyone else who conspired to keep Hon. Ssegirinya in jail, even when he was clearly dying, all have his blood on their hands!”
Bobi Wine also questioned the Chief Justice’s silence on the ongoing trial of civilians in military tribunals, which he argued has faced public outrage for years.
He criticised the judiciary for prioritising political interests over justice, citing the case of Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, who was denied urgent medical care while in prison after being tortured for criticising the government.
Bobi Wine further pointed out the discrepancies in the judiciary’s handling of political cases: “The judiciary denied the ill Hon. Ssegirinya bail for two whole years, but released healthy NRM legislators and ministers within just a few days of their arrest for stealing relief items from vulnerable citizens in Karamoja who were dying of poverty.”
He added that the judiciary, under Owiny-Dollo’s leadership, had become compromised, with decisions often aligning with the interests of President Museveni’s regime.
He referred to the judiciary’s denial of bail for Ssegirinya as a direct result of the president’s personal orders, questioning the integrity of judicial officers handling “sensitive” cases.
Bobi Wine therefore called for an end to the trial of civilians in military courts and urged the Chief Justice to take action. “Ugandans are tired of a judiciary that works like a dead clock: only correct twice a day.
They demand for a judiciary that is consistent and impartial in its dispensation of justice,” he stated.