Two Lawmakers aligned with Uganda’s pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, President Yoweri Museveni’s major opponent, were granted bail on Monday after serving 17 months in prison on murder accusations that the opposition claims are politically motivated.
Both legislators, Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana, are members of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) led by Wine, who was Museveni’s major adversary in the 2021 election.
“They have been granted bail, we’re currently processing bail conditions for their release,” one of their lawyers, Erias Lukwago, told media.
The lawmakers were given bail ahead of any trial on the condition that they surrender their passports and pay 20 million shillings ($5,470) each, he said.
Following a wave of assassinations in central Uganda, an opposition stronghold, that left at least 26 people dead, the two legislators were charged with murder in September 2021. Since their detention, they have been denied bail on numerous occasions, with prosecutors denying their plea on the grounds that it would interfere with the investigations into the killings. There is no scheduled date for any trial.
The NUP has claimed that the charges against the lawmakers are false and that their trial is part of the government’s effort to undermine the opposition by imprisoning its leaders and supporters.
Officials have disputed that the prosecution is political in nature. Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is largely anticipated to run for re-election in 2026, though he has not declared whether he will do so.
