A few days after the General Court Martial quashed former head of military intelligence General David Sejusa’s bail application with one of the main issues being lack of substantial sureties, he has vowed to file an application to the Constitutional Court seeking an interpretation on the meaning of a substantial surety.
Sejusa who appeared yesterday before the Makindye army court for the hearing of the case of insubordination and being AWOL; through his lawyers David Mushabe and Kenneth Munungu vowed not to sit back but fight for his rights.
Mushabe informed court that he received instructions from his client to file a petition to the Constitutional Court against the judgment of the Court Martial on the matter.
He thus asked court for a three weeks adjournment to prepare for this petition.
The court last month denied Gen Sejusa bail on grounds that he presented two civilian sureties, Dr Deo Kizito Lukyamuzi and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago. These according to the Court Chairman Levi Karuhanga, cannot exercise the duties of a surety on a General.
“We want the constitutional court to rule on whether my client can be tried by this court since he ceased to be a serving army officer. Secondly we need court to interpret the meaning of ‘substantial sureties’ because this court denied the accused bail based on the substantiality of jobs and ranks in the army,” said Counsel Mushabe.
Mushabe added that in case the Constitutional Court agrees to the interpretation that a ‘substantial surety’ is a soldier or somebody above the rank of the accused; they would have no objection to this court’s ruling where it denied Gen Sejusa.
However, the state prosecution led by Colonel Kagoro Asingura asked court to dismiss the defense’s request for a three weeks adjournment to prepare for their petition.
“We can’t stop defense from going on with their process of seeking constitutional interpretation from constitutional court but since there is no order or showing reference of the alleged petition, that can’t stop court from hearing this case because court can’t be bogged out on speculations,” submitted Kagoro
In his ruling, the court martial chairman Maj Gen Levi Karuhanga said that the jurisdiction issue was resolved and it was proved that the court martial has powers to try the accused.
On the issue of seeking constitutional interpretation, Karuhanga said that court has no powers to stop fulfilling the orders of their client, but added that his court would not grant them three weeks leave since there was no court order stopping this trial.