EU asks for expeditious trial of Rwenzururu Royal guards

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  | The European Union in Uganda has called on government to expedite the trial of Rwenzururu Royal guards and Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere who were arrested in Kasese in 2016.

Their arrest followed an attack on Buhikira Royal Palace, the seat of the Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere by security agencies on November 27, 2016. The attack saw more than 100 people dead.

A day prior, the forces had raided the office of the prime minister of Rwenzururu Kingdom in Kasese town in an incident that saw at least eight royal guards’ dead.

A total of 203 people, including Mumbere were arrested and charged with a series of offences including murder, attempted murder, arson, malicious damage, terrorism and treason. While Mumbere, his Prime Minister John Thembo Kitsumbire and six juveniles were granted bail, the other kingdom loyalists have remained under detention in Kirinya and Luzira prisons.

The European Union in Uganda, in a statement released on Tuesday, cites the need to make public the outcomes of the investigations into this matter and swift action on the same so that victims of this incident can secure justice.

“Those arrested in Kasese after the deadly violence three years ago are still in jail and have not faced their trial. As partners in Uganda, the EU and member states continue to call for the outcome of the investigation to be made public and acted upon swiftly to secure justice for all victims.” The statement reads.

Kasese district LC V Chairperson Geoffrey Sibendire Bigogo says in addition to expediting the trial, there is need for police to degazette the palace and the prime minister’s office as scenes of crime. Police have always maintained that the two places remain crime scenes since 2016.

Bigogo says three years down the road, it is only noble that the security stops labelling them as crime scenes since police detectives have ability to reconstruct the scene in print or video and submit it to court.

Bigogo adds that the structures when they remain with scenes of crime labels invoke very bad memories among residents of Kasese and more specific subjects of the Rwenzururu Kingdom who might have lost their loved ones during the conflict. He adds that keeping them crime scenes could be intended humiliate the loyalists of the kingdom.

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