High Court in Kampala has revised the cash bail given to opposition figure Kizza Besigye from Shs30m to Shs3m.
Buganda Road Court grade one magistrate, Siena Owomugisha, set the whopping sum when Besigye applied for bail in a case where he is accused of incitement of violence.
His sureties were further bonded Shs70m. Besigye refused to pay the amount and opted to go to Luzira prison.
On Monday, High Court judge Micheal Elubu reviewed the amount saying the Shs30m was harsh and excessive.
According to the judge, the offense of incitement to violence attracts a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of Shs1.440m.
As such, the judge noted, Shs30m cash bail is considered too high.
“Taking all circumstances of the case into consideration, it is my considered opinion that the learned trial magistrate exercised her discretion with a material irregularity when she set the bail condition at Shs30m,” the judge ruled.
He added: “This condition was manifestly harsh and excessive. It, therefore, occasioned a miscarriage of justice.”
Besigye’s lawyer and Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, is, however, still wondering why the bail would be higher than the fine upon conviction.
He told journalists that if Besigye was to be convicted of incitement to violence, he would be sentenced to three years in prison or a fine of Shs1.4m.
