We did not negotiate with Museveni over Ssewanyana, Ssegirinya bail - Bobi wine

In a statement released on his official social media accounts, Kyagulanyi said he is not aware of any negotiations with the President that purportedly led to both legislators getting bail.

“Let me be categorical that I do not know about any such negotiations, and if anyone took part in any negotiations to secure Court bail for detainees, they did so without my knowledge or endorsement,” he said.

Kyagulanyi said going into negotiations with Museveni would put them (the party) in a compromising situation since they would have to involve themselves in a “give and take situation.”

“Negotiations involve give and take considerations. We have nothing to give to Museveni in exchange for our rights. The biggest thing Museveni would need in exchange is to stop fighting his regime of blood and shame and we are not about to stop doing that,” he said.

He added: “Our position remains that we must not beg Gen. Museveni and his criminal regime to grant us our God given rights. The suggestion that one needs to negotiate with Museveni to get bail, which should be entirely a court process, is not only shameful but ridiculous. Unfortunately, that is what our country has been reduced to! Impunity, lawlessness and disregard for institutions normalised.”

The NUP president also revealed that the party leadership has not yet spoken to both legislators ever since they were given bail.

“We have not yet spoken about this comprehensively because we have not yet had the opportunity to see or speak with the two Members of Parliament (MP). Ordinarily, when our comrades are freed from illegal detention, we speak with them and that enables us to understand better the circumstances of their abduction or arrest, what happened to them in detention, the circumstances of their release, as well as the general state of their health. For now, their families have told us that they are still undergoing treatment. We shall be in position to speak out better after interacting with them,” he said.

After 17 months in jail, Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana were granted bail on Monday 13 February 2023.

The two were remanded on charges of murder, terrorism, and attempted murder relating to a spate of machete murders that rocked the Greater Masaka region in 2021.

Prosecution alleged that both MPs planned the murders at Happy Boys, Kalenda, and Kayanja Estate House in Kampala.

The legislators are battling capital offences which attract a maximum sentence of death upon conviction. Both legislators have been in jail since September 2021.