National Unity Platform (NUP) party president Robert Kyagulanyi has broken his silence over the release of embattled Members of Parliament Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West) and Muhammad Segirinya (Kawempe North) on bail.

Responding to claims that the two MPs were released following negotiations with President Yoweri Museveni, Kyagulanyi said, "I do not know about any such negotiations, and if anyone took part in any negotiations to secure court bail for [the] detainees, they did so without my knowledge or endorsement."

He added that they would in the coming days, be able to interact with the two MPs and guide the nation on the way forward.

"We have not yet spoken about this comprehensively because we have not yet had the opportunity to see or speak with the two MPs. Ordinarily, when our comrades are freed from illegal detention, we speak with them and that enables us to understand better the circumstances of their abduction or arrest, what happened to them in detention, the circumstances of their release, as well as the general state of their health. For now, their families have told us that they are still undergoing treatment. We shall be in position to speak out better after interacting with them," Kyagulanyi says in the statement. 

The two legislators were released on bail on Monday, February 13, 2023, after spending more than a year in jail on charges of murder.

The duo, alongside others, were remanded in relation to machete killings in greater Masaka.

The charges

Prosecution alleges that between January and August 2021, the accused and others still at large with intent to intimidate the public for political, religious or economic aims, indiscriminately directly involved themselves in the murder and terror acts in the greater Masaka region.

The indictment indicates that the accused targeted the Masaka region because it allegedly attracts a lot of media attention. 

The two MPs allegedly facilitated their co-accused with cash ranging between sh50,000 to sh100,000 to execute the mission according to the indictment presented in court by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). 

The indictment indicates that the attacks were aimed at instilling fear in the people and eventually discrediting the Government.