After the Court of Appeal declined granting bail to jailed Kawempe North Member of Parliament Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana of Makindye West yesterday, The Fatboy Show presenters Olive Najjuma and James Onen have contemplated how the court has handled this case and allegations cast by the state on the MPs.
“For me, I did not understand the string of charges they are being accused of. How in the hell would MPs be involved in such a thing, and for what reason?” James Onen wondered.
Her co-host added, “and none of these MPs comes from Masaka. One comes from Makindye and the other Kawempe. Remember these killings weren’t the first to happen in the region. There were killings in 2018 way before the two became MPs, and to this day, we don’t know who spearheaded them.”
“But now we have MPs charged with the murders that happened last year. So are they being prosecuted because there’s a likeliness that they were involved, or they just want NUP to look bad,” Olive inquired?
A caller on the show, only identified as Pacific discerned that the continuous dismissal of the MPs’ bail applications is a political ploy by the some political powers to frustrate the MPs from participating in active politics until their terms end.
“They probably rubbed some feathers with the powers that be and possibly are being punished for it. Now, they are being referred to the high court for a final verdict and remanded back to prison. The next hearing may be in four months. Before we know it, it's could be another year, and they are still in jail. And before long, their entire five years are marred by their stay in jail,” he said.
He noted that when the MPs were arrested, the killings were halted and the two were among the most outspoken opposition MPs. "Their arrest and denial of bail may be an issue of personal vendetta with some political powers. Remember, after they were granted bail in September last year, they were immediately re-arrested and slapped with new charges," he argued.
Adding that it was in the same period that the president openly scrapped bail for people charged with capital offenses.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, and Sarah every weekday from 6 am to 10 am on RX Radio.