The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Why the state changed charge sheet again
Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME – COVER STORY | The saga of Dr Kizza Besigye’s trial has taken another twist after he was on Feb. 21 sneaked into Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court and charged with treason and misprision of treason which, on conviction, carry the death penalty.
Besigye’s arraignment before the Nakawa Court in a wheel chair appears to have been a fumbled culmination of intense pressure on the government to produce and charge him in a civil court as ordered by the Supreme Court. It also followed public outcry after images of an increasingly unwell Besigye made the rounds on social media.
Besigye’s trial at the court has set a precedent in the saga of transferring the trials of civilians from the General Court martial to civilian courts after a Supreme Court judgement averred that civilians should not be tried in military courts.
The charge sheet at the Chief Magistrates Court had also been altered. It did not have the charge of possession of firearms for which Besigye and his co-accused Obeid Lutale, a longtime associate, faced at the military court.
It is the third time the state is changing the charges again Besigye. Initially Besigye was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and solicitation of military support overseas in order to destabilise national security.
Later, the prosecutor amended the charge sheet to include treachery and introduced a third suspect, Captain Denis Ola, who is a serving army officer.
This is also the third time that Besigye is facing the charge of treason. In 2016, Besigye was charged with treason for swearing himself in after the presidential election that year.
Earlier, in 2005, he faced the same charge following his return from exile in South Africa to take part in the 2006 election against President Museveni. In all previous cases, the charges have appeared trumped up and the evidence has evaporated under court scrutiny.
Speculation is still rife on what triggered the circumstances of Besigye’s arrest last year in a Kenya. According to audios that leaked shortly after his arrest, Besigye is in a discussion with some European nationals involving acquisition of fighter jets.
There was debate on the authenticity of the audios but it is what prompted Ugandan security to swing into action and arrest Besigye in collaboration with their Kenyan counterparts.
The opposition doyen has always denounced military action against the government saying the costs of a violent overthrow would be too high. The general consensus is that the 68-year-old is in the evening of his political career.
Besigye’s health worrying
Besigye and his co-accused were remanded to Luzira prison till March 7. It was another long and painful day for Besigye and the multitudes of Ugandans who have showed him an outpouring of love and support as he was rushed back to prison.
His lead lawyer Erias Lukwago was astounded by the court’s decision to further remand Besigye. “Can a person who has been brought to court in a wheel chair be remanded to prison still in a wheel chair? Surely, can’t they (prison officers) guard him like they are guarding him here while he’s in hospital? Your Worship, the life of Dr Besigye is in your hands,” Lukwago told the magistrate.
Earlier in the week, Justice Douglas Singiza, the presiding judge at High Court, sent Besigye back to Luzira prison ironically on the same reason of ill health saying he did not want the situation where Besigye faints in court to the befuddlement of those listening.
The judge came under fire for reacting to social media outrage more than the merits of the case where his lawyers demanded for his immediate release. The fully packed court room was filled with supporters and allies; and there were pro-Besigye chants when the judge sent the veteran activist back to custody.
Justice Singiza was the same judge who remanded activist Kakwenza Rukirabshaija to prison in spite of the latter having gone through torture at the hands of state agents.
Two opposition MPs were in the same scenario recently while they faced court cases and one of them, Muhammad Ssegirinya, passed on due to ailing health a month ago.
A day after Besigye’s court appearance, Buganda Road Court declined to grant a release order with the magistrate saying there was a simialr case before the High Court. Activists and opposition often decry alleged capture of Ugandan courts by the executive. Besigye’s continued detention in Luzira prison has galvanized an angry opposition seeking for justice and accountability from a government that remains intransigent.
During the Nakawa Court appearance, Besigye appeared to be in a more dire health condition than two days before when he was in the High Court in Kampala for a habeas corpus hearing.
Besigye’s health condition became an emergency when he appeared at the High Court barely managing to walk on his own. He was due for a hearing seeking answers from the Attorney General and the Commissioner General of Prisons on his continued incarceration after the Supreme Court pronounced itself on the continued trials of civilians by military courts.
Besigye has been on hunger strike to protest his detention. His health has deteriorated and the prognosis is not looking good. He was allowed brief medical attention at a clinic but his wife Winnie Byanyima and his lawyers say he it was not sufficient given the conditions of his prison cell.
Besigye’s condition has sparked an international outcry with human rights groups calling for his immediate release and medical care. Besigye—said to be the most persecuted opposition politician—has been in jail since November when he was arrested by a joint Uganda Kenya operation in Nairobi.
Pressure mounts on Museveni
A number of lawyers have also questioned what they say are shenanigans the government has employed to stall Besigye’s fair trial. According to them, the government is intent on keeping Besigye locked up.
Amidst the pressure to free Besigye, the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka and Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao have been caught in the eye of the storm for delaying tactics. Kiwanuka was out of the country on the day of the hearing.
While addressing the matter in parliament, Mao said Besigye’s lawyers were not moving fast enough on the paper work. This angered lawmakers who have persistently raised the matter in the House. In a rejoinder, Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of Opposition told him to stop feigning ignorance over the issue.
“The Attorney General whom you supervise was a party to this matter. He is the one who appealed this matter.”
In a rare move, the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among also joined the fray asking Mao why the transfer of files is taking long not to mention the government’s failure to act on concerns of Besigye’s health.
The decision to transfer Besigye’s case from the General Court Martial to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was preceded by side shows of State House, ministers, and judges apparently uncertain about how to proceed in the face of a major decision by the Supreme Court.
The flat-footed state officials appear to have been jolted into action following a Museveni missive, a sort of public explanation on why Besigye is being held.
“Why was Dr.Besigye arrested?” Museveni asked.
“The answer to that is a quick trial so that facts come out,” he answered.
“Otherwise, you are promoting insecurity which is very dangerous for the country. Nobody in the world can easily give us lectures on reconciliation and forgiveness because that is part of our doctrine right from the 1960s.”
“How can you be accused of serious crimes and, then, your response is hunger strike to generate sympathy for getting bail, etc.? Why don’t you demand a quick trial? The military court was ready for the trial. Let us wait for the civilian court,” Museveni said.
Kenya govt under fire
The Kenyan government has also come under fire for its role in the arrest of one of the most famous political figures in Africa with the issue being discussed in the Kenyan Senate. The rendition of Besigye led to an outburst of criticism for the mafia-style operation in which he was hauled back to Uganda and thrown in jail.
Besigye’s rendition follows on the heels of the arrest in Kenya of 36 members of the Besigye faction of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) on July 23, 2024 when Kenyan and Ugandan security personnel stormed the hotel where they were, hauled them into vehicles and drove them to Uganda in the middle of the night.
In Kampala, External Security Organsation (ESO) officers paraded them before the media at Kololo Independence Grounds where they said the FDC members were engaging in suspected terrorist activities.
But in a statement, Prof. Peter Anyang Nyong’o, the Governor of Kisumu County in Kenya, condemned the “violent arrest” of the opposition politicians.
“I am further informed that the politicians had been lawfully allowed to enter Kenya by immigration official to attend the meeting,” Nyong’o said. He challenged Kenyan Police to clarify if its officers were involved in the arrest but was met with denials.
Meanwhile 33 of those arrested were in October 2024 granted bail after four months in detention.
Following Besigye’s rendition, Kenyan activists staged protests in front of parliament and at the Ugandan embassy in the country. Kenyan lawyer and activist Martha Karua is part of Besigye’s legal team and she has jetted in and out of the country for court appearances. Karua like Besigye has been a presidential contestant.
Besigye has dominated online discourse in Uganda since images of him looking frail went viral on social media weeks ago. Ugandans on X have mobilized voices to advocate for Besigye’s release.
United opposition
In spite of his advanced age, Besigye still enjoys support and loyalty from a large segment of Uganda’s youthful population which is increasingly at odds with the 1986 class of Museveni and his cohorts.
Besigye’s wife, Byanyima, has waged an unwavering campaign for her partner’s freedom. An activist in her own right, she is the executive director of UNAIDS. She has scaled down her busy schedule at the Geneva-based body to take up what appears to be the fight of her life. In court, she said she was “devastated” but not surprised by how Museveni was treating Besigye.
In a speech at the National Unity Platform headquarters where prayers were held for Besigye and other political prisoners, Byanyima said her father, an opposition figure too, took in Museveni’s mother for a period of two years after she had been tortured by government soldiers because her son was a rebel leader. This was during the Obote II era when Museveni was leading a guerilla war.
Byanyima lambasted Museveni for lack of humanity and decency and said time was not on the side of the long-serving president. Byanyima, a former legislator for Mbarara Municipality also castigated Museveni’s son Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba who is also the military chief, for his role in her husband’s ordeal. Muhoozi has repeatedly threatened to hang Besigye and the threat has gone without reprimand from the president.
The detention of Besigye, four-time presidential candidate and former president of the Forum for Democratic Change, also brought politicians of different shades together. Erias Lukwago, Mugisha Muntu, Waswa Birigwa, Bobi Wine, Betty Nambooze, Winnie Kiiza and others met at the NUP headquarters for a joint statement in what looked like a prelude to the next election.
At the event, NUP President Bobi Wine, said there was no other way apart from maintaining the unity and pressure to have Besigye released from jail. As the event was underway, the army had laid siege on the party offices in Kavule, Kampala and state agents had a day earlier allegedly abducted Fred Nyanzi, Bobi’s brother and NUP’s head of mobilization. Also abducted were five of NUP’s election officials.
The country is in a state of siege. Museveni’s statement showed he was not about to relent on Besigye and the military’s besiegement of NUP offices showed the fight was far from over.
Besigye has been on the political scene since 1999 when he authored a document excoriating the NRM government of President Museveni for betraying the ideals the NRA fought for in their guerilla war that brought Museveni to power. Besigye was part of the struggle as Museveni’s physician.
In Museveni’s government, Besigye served as minister and political commissar until his patience ran out. The two men have had an acrimonious relationship for decades and Museveni’s statement on Besigye’s condition showed there was no love lost.
Besigye is no new suspect at the court martial. In 2005, he was arraigned before the military court on charges of unlwaful possession of firearms after he returned from exile. There were also attempts to court martial him after his dossier in 1999 while he was still subject to army code as a serving officer.
He retired in 2000 at the rank of Colonel and his affiliation to the army endures. Besigye’s detention and health situation has now left him at the mercy of his old nemesis, President Museveni who holds all the cards in this case.
