Members of Parliament Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana have officially addressed the media for the first time since being granted bail.
Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana, who had been on remand at Kigo since September 2021, were granted bail on February 13 by Justice Lawrence Tweyanze.
The two are battling terrorism and murder charges that happened in Masaka in 2021.
The two MPs showed up this morning at the National Unity Platform’s Kamwokya headquarters 44 days after regaining their temporary freedom.
The “loudest” insinuation about their release has been that the MPs were engaged in negotiations with President Yoweri Museveni, and they allegedly made some compromises and undertakings.
While addressing the media, the two MPs first provided an explanation for their delay in speaking to the media. They claimed that they had to take care of their health issues first before speaking to the media.
Regarding the subject of negotiations, Ssewanyana denied being aware of any discussions that resulted in their release.
Ssewanyana said that they sought their freedom in accordance with the constitutional process.
“How can we get involved in any negotiations when we are sure we did not commit any crimes? If negotiations were there, I would not have paid Shs20 million for bail or even handed over my passport,” he said.
Ssegirinya similarly insisted that their brief release was due to pressure from their supporters, the media, and their lawyers.
“You all know we are innocent. The negotiations people are talking about are false because we don’t even don’t know who arrested us. So who can we negotiate with?,” said Ssegirinya.
The MPs claimed that being imprisoned for over a year has not diminished their commitment to defending the rights of regular Ugandans.