The bail hearing for 38 National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters arrested in Mbarara has been postponed for the sixth time, prolonging their detention and frustrating relatives who say the process is unnecessarily slow.
Mbarara Grade One Magistrate Alex Buguma, representing Chief Magistrate Andrew Kabombo, adjourned the case to Thursday, December 11, 2025.
Buguma said the chief magistrate had traveled to Kampala on official duties and could not hear a case allocated solely to him.
"As the state submitted, files are allocated by the allocation officer, normally the chief magistrate, and this file was allocated to him," Buguma told the court on Monday.
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"I also know the bail application is partly heard, and the magistrate has handled this matter twice despite prior sessions in Bushenyi. Since he is away for official duties, I will adjourn the matter. I will give a short adjournment to December 11 at 9 am."
Defense lawyers, led by Allan Musasire, asked the court to return the original national identity cards of the suspects' sureties, which had been submitted as part of the bail process. The court did not grant this request.
Relatives of the accused expressed frustration at repeated adjournments and the personal and financial strain of traveling long distances to attend court sessions.
Osbert Nyesiga, a resident of Isingiro and husband to one of the accused, said: "We have been told again and again to come, and the only thing they do is adjourn court. Government should state clearly their motive or give them a sentence instead of wasting our resources, which are not even available."
Aisha Nsimire, from Ruti, Mbarara City, whose husband is among the accused, added: "Every time we appear in court, we are misled. My husband was arrested, he was the breadwinner of the family, and we are suffering back home. Our people are innocent."
Enid Mbabira, a mother from Kagadi District, said: "I have been attending court for all the previous five sittings, and court just adjourns every time. Court should be considerate. Our children are innocent--who did they kill? They are in detention very innocently. I am so frustrated; my national ID was retained, and they don't want to return it."
The 38 accused were arrested on November 7, 2025, while travellling to Bwizibwera to attend a NUP presidential candidate campaign rally.
They face charges of obstruction of duty related to Mbarara District Police Commander Kenneth Kabwigo, who has not appeared in court as a complainant.
