A fresh legal dispute has emerged in the high-profile treason case involving opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused, Hajji Obied Lutale, after their lawyers demanded that state-appointed advocates immediately withdraw from representing them.
In a cease-and-desist letter dated July 16, 2026, Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates accused the state-appointed lawyers of acting without the instructions or consent of the accused persons in Criminal Case No. 0335 of 2025.
According to the law firm, the continued representation violates Article 28(3)(d) of Uganda’s Constitution, which guarantees every accused person the right to legal representation by a lawyer of their own choice.
The lawyers argued that any advocate who continues to represent a client without proper instructions breaches fundamental legal ethics and undermines the constitutional rights of the accused.
The latest development follows an earlier High Court decision to assign state brief lawyers after Besigye’s preferred legal team faced significant setbacks.
Among those developments was the deportation of Kenyan Senior Counsel Martha Karua and the detention of former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, both of whom had been involved in Besigye’s defence team.
Kiiza & Mugisha Advocates maintain that the accused persons have already chosen their preferred legal representatives and that any state-appointed lawyers should immediately cease acting on their behalf.
The dispute is expected to intensify debate over the constitutional right to legal representation, fair trial guarantees, and the independence of Uganda’s justice system as the treason case continues.
The matter remains before the courts, and the legal issues raised are yet to be determined by the judiciary.
