KAMPALA– On Wednesday, High Court Judge Emmanuel Baguma dismissed the bail application which was filed by Agaba Anthony aka Bobi Young a National Unity Platform (NUP) die hard who was remanded to Luzira by Makindye General Court Martial on charges of unlawful possession of Military stores.
After ,the January 2025, Supreme Court ruling which outlawed the trial of Civilians in Army courts, thereby ordering those with pending files to be forwarded to Civilian Courts, Bobi young as one of the civilians who was being tried at General Court Martial applied for bail in High Court and paraded a number of witnesses which he asked Court to find to be substantial.
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In his ruling delivered via Electronic Mail (E-Mail), Baguma noted that although Court has powers to grant bail, it can only be done only in cases rightly before it, but Bobi’s file has never been transferred to Civil Court as alleged by the applicant’s lawyers.
“In addition to the above findings therefore, this means that, where the DPP has not exercised its constitutional mandate to prosecute a person before a Civilian Court, the High Court lacks the basis upon which to entertain a bail application.”
That, where a person is not subject of a criminal prosecution by DPP before a Civilian court, the remedy lies elsewhere not bail. Otherwise he or she will be pursuing wrong reliefs disguised in bail.
“It is my considered view that bail falls where there is a charge or where there is a pending case in Civil Court, otherwise, the applicant should seek for other remedies but not bail.”
Baguma also agreed entirely with Andrew Khaukha in his decision where he declined to grant Yasin Ssekitoleko aka Machete on grounds that the matter was not properly before court, he asked Machete to first wait his matter to be placed before Magistrates Court and later committed to High Court.
