Lawyer Nicholas Opio wants DPP to return personal property

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The  Executive Director of Chapter Four Uganda Nicholas Opio who is facing charges of money laundering has asked the Anti Corruption court to direct the prosecution to return his property confiscated during his arrest.

Opio on Thursday appeared before Grade one Magistrate Moses Nabende and it is where his lawyers led by David Mpanga made the plea from as the case came up for mention.

Court heard that 15 personal items belonging to Opio were taken by the security which arrested him  in December 2020 and to date they have not been returned.

Mpanga noted that he did not know for how long they are going to be kept for purposes of investigations.    According  to Opio the 15 personal items  had not been listed on the list of exhibits which made him think that they had been stolen.

These items included a motor vehicle, National Identification Cards, Laptop, phones , hard drive, google security keys, among others.

Although the motor vehicle was returned a few days ago, Opio said it looked like it’s fuse had been tampered with.

But the Prosecution in response asked court to be given a month to find out whether those that have not yet been returned are needed in investigations or not.

The Presiding Magistrate accepted their plea and adjourned the matter to March 2 2021 for the Prosecution to update court on the status of investigations.

The Prosecution alleges that on October 8 2020 at ABSA Bank Garden City Branch in Kampala District, Opio’s Organization Chapter Four Uganda where he is the Executive Director acquired  340,000 dollars (1.2 billion Shillings) under account number 6004078045 knowing that at the time of receipt the money in question was proceeds of crime.

Opio who was first arraigned in Nakawa Magistrates Court before being granted bail by High Court.  his troubles started in December 2020  after being  picked up by plain clothed operatives FROM Lamaro Restaurant in Kamokya, a Kampala Suburb .

Opio was later  taken to the Special Investigations Department of Police in Kireka together with four other lawyers/ human defenders until they were later released on police bond.

The four are :Simon Peter Esomu , Anthony Odur , Dakasi Herbert and Hamidu Tenywa.

During his time in prison,  several Organizations including the Uganda Law Society, embassies and human rights activists came out to condemn his arrest  saying that he had been arrested unlawfully and that charges had been trumped up by the state.

Opio’s  Chapter Four Uganda bank accounts  have  since been frozen on allegations that they are financing terror in the country.

By the time he was arrested,  he together with several human rights lawyers had been planning to look into the circumstances under which more than 50 people lost their lives during the November 2020 riots.

The riots started after the arrest of former Presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu from Luuka District where he was then conducting his presidential campaigns.

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