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Court-martial adjourns Besigye case over legal representation
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN |The Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) general court-martial has remanded Rtd. Colonel Dr. Kiiza Besigye and Obeid Lutaale Kamulegeya to Luzira and Kitalya prisons, respectively.
Appearing before the Makindye-based military court on Wednesday afternoon, chaired by Brigadier Freeman Mugabe, the duo faced four charges related to security, including conspiring against Uganda’s security and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The prosecution, led by Raphael Mugisha, alleged that between October 2023 and November 2024, while in Geneva, Switzerland, Athens, Greece, and Nairobi, Kenya, the accused held meetings aimed at soliciting logistical support and identifying military targets in Uganda to compromise the security of the defence forces.
Copy of Dr @kizzabesigye1 and Hajji Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya’s charge sheet. For the record, Hajji Obeid is our FDC’s Secretary for ethics, Integrity and Religious Affairs. pic.twitter.com/Y7lG0x7ujF
— Nyanjura Doreen Omutatina (@DoreenNyanjura) November 20, 2024
On a separate count, the prosecution claimed that on November 16, 2024, at Riverside Apartments in Nairobi, Kenya, Besigye and Kamulegeya were allegedly found in possession of two pistols and eight rounds of ammunition. Both pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Mugisha informed the court that investigations were ongoing and requested that the accused be remanded until December 2, 2024.
Earlier, Besigye contested the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that neither he nor his co-accused are serving military officers. He also questioned whether proceedings could continue in the absence of legal representation. However, Brigadier Mugabe ruled that the court had jurisdiction, citing the duo’s alleged possession of firearms as grounds for trial under military law.
Besigye was abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, last week and forcibly returned to Uganda.
I request the govt of Uganda to release my husband Dr Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately.
He was kidnapped last Saturday while he was in Nairobi for Hon Martha Karua’s book launch. I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala.
We his…— Winnie Byanyima (@Winnie_Byanyima) November 19, 2024
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