Our release was not negotiated – Ssegirinya, Ssewanyana speak out

 Makindye West Member of Parliament Allan Ssewanyana and his Kawempe North counterpart Muhammad Ssegirinya have today spoken out and shared their ordeal while in jail, weeks after being released on bail.

The two opposition MPs who were on remand for one year and five months for the alleged murder of over 20 people in the Greater Masaka region in August 2021 were released on February 13, 2023.

Addressing journalists today at the NUP party headquarters in Kamyokya, the two MPs dismissed claims that their freedom was as a result of protracted negotiations between the government and opposition leaders.

Ssewanyana and Ssegirinya have explained that their release was through legal procedures, insisting that they are innocent and that court itself failed to find sufficient evidence pinning them to the alleged crimes.

“There was no negotiation. It was the law that worked for us as well as the pressure from journalists, religious, cultural leaders and our party leaders,” the pair jointly asserted.

“I don’t think we needed the negotiations because we had our lawyers headed by Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago whose way of doing things shows he cannot go through corners,” Ssewanyana emphasized.

The duo alleges that the false propaganda concerning their release was being orchestrated by enemies within the party.

Written by Ritah Kemigisa