Besigye, Lutale treason case hearing starts Monday

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The High Court in Kampala is on Monday, September 1, 2025, scheduled to begin hearing a case in which four-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide, Hajji Obeid Lutale, are accused of treason.

They are jointly charged alongside a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer, Captain Denis Oola, attached to the Armoured Brigade. The trio also faces charges of misprision of treason. If convicted, the offences carry a maximum sentence of death.

Justice Emmanuel Baguma of the Criminal Division of the High Court will preside over the case.

The state is represented by assistant director of public prosecutions Thomas Jatiko and chief state attorney Richard Birivumbuka, while the accused are being represented by Kenyan lawyer Martha Karua, Ernest Kalibala, Fred Mpanga and Erias Lukwago.

Allegations

Prosecution alleges that between 2023 and November 2024, Besigye, Lutale, Oola and others still at large, at various locations including Geneva in Switzerland, Athens in Greece, Nairobi in Kenya and Kampala in Uganda, contrived a plot to overturn the Government of Uganda by force of arms. 

The prosecution further claims that they expressed or declared this plot through utterances and overt acts.

The charge sheet also states that during the same period and in the same locations, the accused, knowing that another person intended to commit treason, failed to report this information to a minister, an administrative officer, a magistrate or a police officer, or to take reasonable steps to prevent the commission of treason.

Particulars of overt acts

According to court documents, the accused persons travelled to Switzerland, Greece and Kenya to attend meetings aimed at advancing the plot to overthrow the Ugandan Government. They are also alleged to have organised meetings, both physically and virtually, in Geneva, Athens, Nairobi and Kampala.

The documents further state that the accused provided logistical support and facilitated several Ugandan citizens to travel to Kisumu, Kenya, for training in military and intelligence-gathering techniques.

It is additionally alleged that the trio solicited military, financial and other logistical support to pursue the plot.