Besigye trial: Police says visits to alleged meeting venues were unnecessary
A police investigator told court that visiting the alleged coup meeting locations was unnecessary because investigators already had video recordings as evidence.
Kizza Besigye. (File)
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A police officer who investigated treason charges against opposition figure Kizza Besigye has told court that visiting alleged coup-plot meeting locations was unnecessary because investigators already possessed video recordings as evidence.
Inspector of Police Benedict Odyek, attached to the Criminal Investigations Directorate’s Special Investigations Department in Kibuli, also told court that the crime scene could have been tampered with due to delays in reporting the case, before investigations commenced.
The court was today (November 4) presided over by Justice Emmanuel Baguma of the Criminal Division of the High Court, in Kampala.
“It was unnecessary to visit the locations because we already had video recordings that formed part of the evidence relating to the alleged meetings. Besides, the locations could have been tampered with by the time the case was reported to the police,” the witness said.
Odyek, however, acknowledged that visiting a crime scene is an important part of investigations, explaining that officers are expected to inspect the scene promptly, when it has not been interfered with.
The officer made the clarification while being guided by Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka.
According to Odyek, the alleged meetings involved plans by Besigye and his co-accused to overthrow the Government through attacks on security installations, the assassination of the President and coordination of an airfield in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Asked about two pistols reportedly recovered during the investigations, Odyek told court that the firearms were placed in classified stores after investigators concluded that they were not relevant to the case.
The case
Besigye, his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale and Capt. Denish Oyaa Oola, a Uganda People's Defence Forces officer attached to the Armoured Brigade, are facing charges of treason and misprision of treason. The offences carry a maximum sentence of death upon conviction.
The prosecution alleges that Besigye, Lutale, Oola and others still at large conspired between 2023 and 2024, in various countries including Switzerland, Greece, Kenya and Uganda, to overthrow the Government of Uganda through the use of armed force.
The case has been adjourned to November 11, 2026, for further hearing, with the State expected to present a fourth new witness to testify against the accused persons.