Kampala — Forum for Democratic Change leader Kizza Besigye may be released today or later this week in a move meant to puncture the larger-than-life profile his incarceration has created, senior cabinet and military sources have confirmed.

The sources said over the weekend that the military General Court Martial is likely to grant Dr Besigye bail in respect of the charges of terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms.

Besigye is also facing charges of treason, concealment of treason, and rape in the High Court. Hearing of the treason trial is scheduled to start today before Justice John Bosco Katutsi.

The High Court had already granted Besigye temporary bail in respect of the treason and rape charges, but he remains on remand in Luzira because of the two charges before the army court. That trial had also been scheduled to begin today.

Impeccable sources told Daily Monitor that the government had come under internal pressure to drop the charges against Besigye in the military court, whose legality and legitimacy he has challenged in the Constitutional Court.

A cabinet source said he was aware of high-level meetings that were going on, which had reached the conclusion that "the only way forward is to withdraw the charges against Besigye in the Court Martial".

"There is no need for double prosecution over the same matter especially now that the High Court trial is also beginning," he said.

However, the option of withdrawing the charges remained complicated because it was pegged to Besigye's lawyers withdrawing the petition they have filed in the Constitutional Court challenging the legitimacy of the Court Martial and the legality of his double trial.

Another camp within the government has pushed the option of the army court offering Besigye bail. However, this has also been complicated by the fact that the High Court earlier this month issued an interim order stopping the Court Martial from proceeding with Besigye's case until the Constitutional Court has pronounced itself on the matter.

Moreover, Besigye and his lawyers have refused to recognise the jurisdiction of the Court Martial and will therefore not file a bail application before Gen. Elly Tumwine, the GCM chairman.

Prof. Ogenga Latigo, the FDC deputy president, confirmed this yesterday. He said all the government's overtures were intended to "to recognise the General Court Martial so that they can arraign Besigye before it."

Sources said it had been agreed that army prosecutors could file the application before Tumwine seeking bail for Besigye on two grounds.

"The first ground is that his trial in the High Court is starting and he needs unfettered access to his lawyers to file his defence," a source said. "Secondly, he is a nominated presidential candidate who needs to meet his supports and work on his campaign."

Tumwine declined to comment on the matter yesterday. "I don't talk court matters with the press," he told Daily Monitor.

Although the legalities of the options before the army court remain complicated, a committee of senior political and military officials has reportedly agreed that granting Besigye bail would be the best compromise. It would placate people such as Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi and Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa who want the charges in the army court withdrawn all together, and those who want the case to continue, such as GCM chairman Tumwine.

"The decision to try Besigye in the Court Martial arose because of the delays caused by his bail application in the High Court and the fear that he could be released before the trial began," a State House source said. "Now that it has been agreed that the High Court trial starts and we can demonstrate to the whole world that there is a case against Besigye, there is no need for the Court Martial, which has serious image problems."

The source added, "We can achieve both goals: prosecute him but allow him to campaign and avoid being accused of frustrating his candidature. The thinking is that let's free him, go for Christmas and cool down then start afresh on the elections campaign in January other than constantly being stuck in prison."

Those pushing this view have argued that Besigye's arrest and imprisonment have given him more political capital than he would have gained if he had been allowed to campaign freely. They argue that his incarceration has turned Besigye into an icon larger than a mere opposition party leader.

They also argue that President Museveni would face a serious image problem if he goes on the campaign trail when his most formidable challenger remains in jail and is campaigning through his "widow" Winnie Byanyima and their son Anselm.

It is not lost on the proponents of releasing Besigye that he has remained in the headlines since his arrest on November 14, a situation that would have been unlikely if he had been allowed to continue his countrywide tour.

Whether the Court Martial grants Besigye bail or drops the charges against him altogether, he has said he will not enter any deals with the government.

"As a prisoner of conscience, I neither seek nor expect preferential treatment from [President Museveni] or from anybody else," Besigye said in a statement sent from prison over the weekend. "I will willingly fight the political battle both politically and in the civil courts of law, and I am confident that the truth will set me free."

Besigye added: "I will never subject myself to his (Museveni's) idea of 'preferential treatment' or his dubious and impartial General Court Martial."

Yesterday, Mr Sam Njuba, the FDC deputy president and one of Besigye's lawyers, repeated that the retired colonel would not accept any deal with the government over the Court Martial trial.

"We believe in the rule of law, and we are ready to battle in court," he said. "This is not for Besigye, but of all of us Ugandans. The Constitutional Court must pronounce itself on the issues."

Njuba added, "The General Court Martial cannot go on without being in contempt of court, deal or no deal. The GCM has no mandate to act. An order was issued by court. The minimum is to stop, and the maximum is to drop the charges."

Njuba said, "The Museveni government has found itself in a corner and I sympathise with them. I think they should never have arrested him. We've all made mistakes, but this is one they should never have committed. We are not ready to succumb. Come Monday, we shall not go to the GCM."

Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu, the FDC organising secretary, also said the government was "in a corner" over Besigye's arrest and trials. "They are the ones who put themselves in it," Muntu added. "We have had many (conditional) proposals (to free Besigye) but we have turned them down flatly."