Court dismisses 'produce Aine' petition

High Court has dismissed an application in which Christopher Aine's family sought an order for the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to produce him dead or alive

Justice Lydia Mugambe on Wednesday ruled that the evidence adduced to court by the applicant was not enough to show that Uganda Police had Aine.

The application was intended to compel the Police to produce Aine 'dead' or 'alive.' Aine was head of security team for former presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi.

On January 5, 2016, Mbabazi's lawyers led by Severino Twinobusingye filed an application for a habeas corpus, a court order compelling an authority to produce a suspect in court.

A habeas corpus is a court order that commands an individual or a government official to produce a suspect or prisoner in court to determine the legality of custody and decide whether to order his or her release.

The lawyers claimed that Aine was being held in an undisclosed and un-gazetted detention center.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kale Kayihura in January put sh20m bounty for anyone who will avail information about Aine's whereabouts.

According to court documents, on December 14, 2015 at about 6:00am, Aine was arrested at Kyanja, a city suburb by a group of Police officers travelling in a Police patrol vehicle and white van.

The lawyers contend that since then, Aine has been detained by police and has not been produced in any court of law or informed of the reason for his arrest.

 The lawyers aver that continued detention of Aine without trial and/or being informed for the offences for which he was arrested is not only unlawful but also unconstitutional.

In his affidavit, Ezra Kabugo, Aine's cousin brother claims that since Aine's arrest by plain clothed Police Officers on December 14, 2015, he has never been arraigned formally before courts of law and charged as the law demands.

He adds that no valid reason has been given for his arrest yet efforts to trace him in all police detention centers have proved futile.

"I verily believe that the above actions by the police are a flagrant violation of the Aine's constitutional rights to freedom of movement guaranteed by the law," Kabugo said.