The two embattled Members of Parliament Allan Ssewanyana of Makindye West and Muhammad Ssegirinya of Kawempe North have refuted rumours that their release from prison was out of negotiations with the government.
The duo was arrested and sent to prison in September 2021 and were released on bail on February 13, 2023, by the High Court in Masaka District after spending 524 days in jail, an equivalent of 17 months.
Immediately following their release, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Norbert Mao came out and admitted that he played a role in securing their temporary freedom.
While speaking to journalists, Mao revealed that he started working for the release of the duo even before he was appointed a minister.
“I met the mother of Ssegirinya at Parliament and she fell on her knees begging me to have them released. The parents of Ssewanyana also came. Therefore, what I did, I did it for them, not for politics. I quietly went to Kigo prison and met the two MPs. We sneaked in with [the DP] press secretary Fred Mwesigwa but never posted any social media photos. But there are those even before entering the prison are already taking selfies,” Mao, who is also the president General of the Democratic Party said.
Although he refused to give the details of the negotiations, Mao admitted that there was a deal between the jailer and prisoners which fostered their release on bail in February 2023.
“Bail is a constitutional right and I believe the two MPs should have gotten the bail much earlier. But their case has been over-politicized,” he said.
Nevertheless, while addressing the press at the offices of the National Unity Platform (NUP) in Kampala on Wednesday, Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana refuted the claims and asserted that they never held any negotiations as far as their release is concerned.
“I want to repeat this, nobody negotiated our release because our release was within the laws of Uganda and there were no negotiations. One’s freedom especially in our case is guaranteed, so what were we going to negotiate about?” Ssegirinya asked.
“Up to now, we don’t know why we were arrested and jailed, even we don’t know who arrested us, so whom did we negotiate with? Therefore, there were no negotiations however the pressure from the media, activists and the international community was put on Uganda’s government as to why it was arresting innocent people. We were released also because of the pressure our members of the constituency put on the government.”
Ssewanyana also added that if there were negotiations, the court would not have asked their sureties to pay for Shs20m and also retain their passports.
“It’s a fact that we were arrested and released, but many words have been said. It’s so sad that some leaders use such situations to spread propaganda. The people who were talking about the negotiations had selfish interests. Why would we negotiate?” he asked.
The duo’s statements breed millions of unanswered questions of who is right and who is wrong given the fact that some members from the NUP claimed that it is true the release of the two was after negotiations.
Kimaanya-Kabonera Member of Parliament Hon. Abed Bwanika has on several occasions claimed that the two were set free as a result of negotiations.
According to Mr Bwanika, the meetings negotiating to secure the freedom of the two MPs were always held at the office of the Speaker of Parliament, with the Prime Minister and others that he did not disclose.
“How do you explain the fact that they were released without signing a release order from the prison? The prosecutor did not object to the bail as had been in the previous case. The lawyers said they were there for formalities. What do you make of all these if there were no negotiations?” he asked.
However, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga says there were no negotiations to have the two legislators released.
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