A Ugandan court granted bail on Thursday to 36 members of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, who had been held in police custody since July on terrorism charges.
The High Court’s International Crimes Division ruled that each member would be released upon posting a cash bail of 5 million Ugandan shillings ($1,400) and ordered them to surrender their passports.
The FDC members, one of Uganda’s largest opposition groups, were detained after travelling to Kisumu, Kenya, for a training programme.
Their lawyer, Erias Lukwago, described the release as a relief, noting that some detainees had developed health issues due to poor prison conditions.
President Yoweri Museveni’s government has long kept a close grip on opposition parties. Museveni, in power since 1986, has faced frequent criticism for his administration’s harsh measures against political dissent.
Recently, Uganda’s military tribunal sentenced 16 members of another opposition group, the National Unity Platform (NUP), to five years in prison on charges of treachery and illegal possession of explosives.
The prosecution argued that these individuals had explosives between November 2020 and May 2021, a period during the country’s election season.
Although all 16 NUP members pleaded guilty, NUP leader Bobi Wine, known legally as Robert Kyagulanyi, alleged that they had been coerced into making the plea.