By Nasser Kasozi Akandwanaho
Kampala Woman Member of Parliament Shamim Malende has vowed to continue her legal services to detained NUP supporters after she returned to the country from a hospital in Nairobi where she has been undergoing treatment for nearly five months.
Speaking to journalists after her return on Monday, 27 February 2023, Malende, who was in a wheel chair, said now that she is better, she will continue with her legal services to NUP MPs Allan Ssewanyana and Muhammad Ssegirinya who are facing terrorism and murder charges, and other party members in detention.
“The power of prayer, thank you my people for being there for me. May God continue to bless you,” she said.
Malende was first admitted at the Uganda Martyrs Hospital in Lubaga Division, Kampala after she reportedly suffered a seizure while at her Kawempe residence on November 13, 2022.
While in Lubaga, she was placed on oxygen but her condition worsened, prompting her transfer to the Aghakhan hospital on November 20th, 2022.
Malende underwent abdominal surgery at the Agha Khan Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, November 21st, 2022 after doctors noted that she had digested a strange chemical, which affected her.
Malende’s last public appearance was about four days earlier in November when she was reported sick and rushed to a hospital in Lubaga.
On November 9, she had been arrested by the police in Kawempe where she was found distributing reflector jackets to Boda Boda riders. She was intercepted by police and taken to Kawempe police divisional headquarters where she was detained for at least three hours, questioned, and released without charge.
Malende had been at the forefront of demanding justice for the detained supporters of the opposition National Unity Platform-NUP party and would spend most of her time in court.
She is also part of the legal team representing her jailed colleagues Makindye West Member of Parliament Allan Ssewanyana and his Kawempe North Counterpart, Muhammad Ssegirinya who are facing charges related to terrorism before the International Crimes Division of the High Court.
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