DPP wants Besigye lawyer jailed over alleged contemptuous X-posts
In an application filed before the Criminal Division of the High Court, the prosecution contends that Kiiza published a series of posts on his verified X account, @kiizaeron, commenting on the evidence, attacking the credibility of a prosecution witness and questioning the legitimacy of the proceedings while the case was still pending before court.
The prosecution wants Kiiza (Pictured Centre) to be committed to civil prison for six months or fined. It also seeks an order compelling Kiiza (Pictured) to permanently remove the impugned posts from his X account and publish a court-approved apology on his social media account for seven consecutive days.
KAMPALA - The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has asked court to jail city lawyer Eron Kiiza for criminal contempt over social media posts allegedly prejudicing the ongoing treason trial of four-time presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused.
Besigye is jointly charged with treason and misprision of treason alongside his aide, Obeid Lutale and Capt. Denish Oyaa Oola of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), who is attached to the Armoured Brigade. The offences carry a maximum sentence of death upon conviction.
In an application filed before the Criminal Division of the High Court, the prosecution contends that Kiiza published a series of posts on his verified X account, @kiizaeron, commenting on the evidence, attacking the credibility of a prosecution witness and questioning the legitimacy of the proceedings while the case was still pending before court.
The application, brought under Articles 28(12) and 126 of the Constitution, section 33 of the Judicature Act, the Judicature (Court Forms) Rules and the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court, seeks to have Kiiza found guilty of criminal contempt committed outside court.
The prosecution wants Kiiza to be committed to civil prison for six months or fined. It also seeks an order compelling Kiiza to permanently remove the impugned posts from his X account and publish a court-approved apology on his social media account for seven consecutive days.
The prosecution also wants court to issue an order restraining n him from making further public comments on the ongoing trial, compel him to and award costs of the application.
Prosecution contends that Kiiza embarked on what it described as a “parallel trial in the court of public opinion” by publishing comments on the merits of the prosecution’s evidence.
The ODPP contends that Kiiza described prosecution witness Andrew Wilson Orlando’s police statements as “untrue”, referred to him as “a liar” and publicly questioned the credibility of his testimony.
Orlando, the American national, testified against Besigye two weeks ago, before the opposition figure collapsed and was admitted to Mulago National Referral Hospital for treatment.
The application further alleges that Kiiza urged state-appointed defence lawyers Sylvia Namawejje, Sarah Awero and Julius Serwambala to cease representing the accused persons.
According to the prosecution, the publications were intended to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice, intimidate prospective prosecution witnesses and prejudice the fair determination of the criminal trial.
In an affidavit supporting the application, Criminal Investigations Directorate Officer D/IP Benedict Odyek States that Kiiza operates a verified X account with thousands of followers and used it to publish several articles analysing the prosecution evidence in the Besigye case.
The following day, July 24, Kiiza allegedly published another article titled “Andrew Wilson Orlando’s impossible timeline”, describing the witness statement as “untrue”. On July 25, he allegedly reposted the article and referred to Orlando as “a liar”.
“The letter and the subsequent social media posts were intended to pressure the lawyers into abandoning their statutory duties and interfere with the administration of justice,” Odyek contends.
Odyek also contends that Kiiza deliberately timed his publications to coincide with critical stages of the trial, thereby exposing judicial proceedings to public debate while evidence was still being received.
The application is supported by a digital forensic report prepared by the Uganda Police Force Directorate of Forensic Services following a request from the Criminal Investigations Directorate.
The report states that forensic examiners used Page Freezer Social Discovery software to preserve and analyse three posts published on Kiiza’s verified X account.
According to the report, the account was created in May 2010, is registered in Kampala and had over 26,000 followers at the time of examination. Investigators identified the account through metadata and forensic preservation procedures.
The forensic report states that one of the posts published on July 23, 2026, questioning alleged inconsistencies in Andrew Wilson Orlando's evidence attracted about 28,600 views, 154 reposts, 367 likes, 30 comments and 33 bookmarks before it was preserved as digital evidence.