Mpuuga raises alarm on MP Ssewanyana health as prisons claim he he refuses to meet any visitors

Mathias Mpuuga has challenged the prisons authorities to explain why jailed Makindye West legislator Allan Ssewanyana is not getting the treatment court ordered, after failing to see him on their latest visit.

Mpuuga, the Leader of Opposition in parliament, wondered why the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr Johnson Byabashaija had not allowed Ssewanyana to receive better medical attention despite a court order.

This follows a discovery that the ailing MP who has been in prison for 17 months without trial, can no longer walk or sit on his own.

Mpuuga and his team who were at Kigo Prison to visit their jailed colleagues were informed that Ssewanyana is very ill, even though security said he did not want to see them or anyone else.

Kawempe North MP Muhammad Ssegirinya, who was arrested together with Ssewanyana in September 2021, told Mpuuga and his team that Ssewanyana has been unable to eat on his own or walk for about three weeks.

Ssegirinya told the team that Ssewanyana’s deteriorating medical condition had forced the prison authorities to limit who can see him. Ssegirinya has found himself meeting Ssewanyana’s visitors on his behalf.

A disappointed Mpuuga told the waiting press that, “We have not spoken to him (Ssewanyana), we only spoke to one side, so one side (prisons authorities) claim that that he (Ssewanyana) has refused to be seen. We have not heard from him.”

Mpuuga said that prisons authorities claimed that Ssewanyana had only refused to see them but also his mother and wife.

Mpuuga believes that the authorities are lying about the issue, adding that there could be something wrong about his health.

“Mr. Byabashaija and his team were ordered by court to take these MPs for the special medical treatment. So, they should come out and explain why they have not honoured the court order. Which laws of the land bars anyone from being seen by his family and friends. This is the situation we have seen here,” he said.

In January this year, Masaka High Court allowed specialised treatment for the jailed lawmakers especially Ssewanyana who admitted to Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala.

The duo was arrested on September 7, 2021 alongside seven others in connection with the machete killings in Lwengo and Masaka districts. They were later granted bail on September 21, but the two MPs were re-arrested from the outskirts of Kigo prisons, and fresh murder charges were preferred against them.

Recently, the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo warned the representatives of the State in the case involving the two MPs to stop “playing games” or else the case will be dismissed.

He said the trial of the two legislators would commence this year and will be speedy adding that by now, State representatives must have gathered enough evidence to incriminate the legislators, and failure to have such evidence will close the case.

Dollo said that to highlight the gravity of the matter, he would travel to Masaka to ensure this trial takes place and either the guilt or innocence of the accused persons determined.