Lawyers under the Uganda Law Society (ULS) have questioned the application of the State Brief Scheme in the ongoing treason case against opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye. They say that court-appointed counsel should not replace lawyers privately retained by an accused person.
The concerns were raised during a ULS dialogue on the State Brief Scheme, where speakers also expressed concern over what they described as increasing threats against advocates handling politically sensitive cases.
Human rights lawyer Kakuru Tumsime, who said he has been part of Besigye’s legal team since the former presidential candidate and his co-accused, Haji Obeid Lutale, were brought back to Uganda from Kenya, maintained that Besigye has never lacked legal representation.”Besigye has not lacked legal representation of his choice. Besigye is even willing to pay more lawyers, but of his choice,” Kakuru said.
Kakuru argued that Article 28 of the Constitution guarantees every accused person the right to legal representation of his or her own choosing, adding that state-funded counsel should only be appointed where an accused person cannot afford or obtain private representation.
According to him, Besigye informed the court that he was still capable of engaging his own lawyers but wanted the court to address concerns over the safety of his legal team following what he described as intimidation and harassment of advocates handling the case.
Kakuru urged all lawyers to reject the assignment on professional and ethical grounds. ” A lawyer without instructions is not a lawyer. An advocate without instructions cannot represent an accused person in court,” he said.
He argued that lawyers should not accept instructions from the court where the accused person has neither accepted nor instructed them, warning that doing so could amount to professional misconduct. Kakuru appealed directly to the appointed advocates to decline the brief in solidarity with colleagues whom he said had been targeted because of their representation of Besigye.
“I call upon you state-appointed advocates to follow that procedure, and please decline instructions. Please decline instructions, because these are not instructions… For the good of the Uganda Law Society and for the good of your members who are being harassed, you can’t just make it business as usual and force yourself to represent someone, yet his appointed lawyers face real harassment,” he said.
He maintained that Besigye’s legal team remained available to represent him but had asked the court to first guarantee their safety before proceeding with the trial. Speaking at the same event, Uganda Law Society Vice President Anthony Asiimwe said the concerns raised by Kakuru reflected broader challenges confronting lawyers involved in politically sensitive litigation.
“The legal profession in Uganda now operates in an environment heavily overshadowed by excessive militarization, where military forces and militarized tactics increasingly intrude into civilian justice processes and the independent practice of law,” Asiimwe said.
He said the legal fraternity had earlier warned about what he termed the growing militarisation of civilian justice and argued that recent events had reinforced those concerns. Asiimwe cited arrests of lawyers, threats against legal practitioners and prolonged detention of advocates as developments that were creating fear within the profession.
” This sends a chilling effect to any person who wishes to participate. We are simply doing our work as lawyers,” he said. The State Brief Scheme is intended to provide legal representation to accused persons facing serious criminal charges who are unable to afford private counsel.
However, Kakuru argued that the scheme should only be invoked where the constitutional requirements have been met and should not override an accused person’s right to choose legal representation.
The discussion comes amid ongoing criminal proceedings against Besigye, whose case has continued to draw national attention. The Judiciary had not publicly responded to the concerns raised during the Uganda Law Society dialogue by the time of publication-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
