The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Prisons Service -UPS is awaiting instructions from the Attorney General on the next course of action regarding Retired Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye and other civilians who have been facing trial on various charges before the Court Martial.
Notable among these individuals are dozens of National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters and Besigye’s co-accused, Hajji Obeid Lutaale Kamulegeya, with whom he is jointly charged with treachery and illegal possession of ammunition and firearms.
Last week, the Supreme Court halted all ongoing criminal trials of civilians in the Court Martial and ordered that the files be transferred to civilian courts for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to take charge. The same court, led by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, also ordered that all military officers not facing disciplinary-related charges should be tried in civilian courts.
This Supreme Court decision came as Besigye and his co-accused were expected to report back to court for the hearing of their case. However, neither Besigye nor his co-accused, nor any other suspects, were brought to court.
As a result, Uganda Prisons Service Spokesperson Frank Baine stated that they are waiting for instructions from the Attorney General, who was the appellant in the case. “You know what happened on Friday. The Supreme Court ruled, and now we are waiting for instructions to make the next move,” Baine said.
According to Baine, the procedure is that once the court makes a decision, it issues an order to the Attorney General. He explained that the Attorney General, who had appealed the case, would then call stakeholders to sit down and discuss the implementation of the Supreme Court orders.
Afterward, Baine indicated that the Attorney General would issue a directive to the Uganda Prisons Service. “Because the court provided that those the army thinks should be tried in civilian courts should be transferred, the procedure is that the army must receive them and call in the police as the mover of preliminary evidence,” Baine added.
The army prosecutors allege that Captain Oola, Dr. Kizza Besigye, and Lutaale, between February 2023 and November 2024, in Geneva, Switzerland; Athens, Greece; Nairobi, Kenya; and other locations in Uganda, held meetings aimed at soliciting logistical support and identifying military targets in Uganda with the intent to prejudice the security of the Defence Forces.
Besigye has declined to take a plea on these charges, although the Military Court, chaired by Brigadier Robert Freeman Mugabe, has recorded that he has pleaded not guilty. In 2006, Besigye was charged with treason, rape, and concealment of treason, but those charges were dismissed.
Since declaring his candidacy for the presidency, Besigye has been arraigned in various courts across the country on multiple charges, but no conviction has ever been secured against him. Besigye has consistently accused the state of what he describes as political persecution rather than prosecution.
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