Besigye applies for bail
Dec 01, 2005
RETIRED Col. Kizza Besigye has applied for bail in the High Court in respect of the terrorism charges before the Military General Court Martial (GCM).
By Hillary Kiirya
RETIRED Col. Kizza Besigye has applied for bail in the High Court in respect of the terrorism charges before the Military General Court Martial (GCM).
His lawyers led by Yusuf Nsibambi argued that the Anti Terrorism Act under which their client was charged provides that the trial and bail in respect of the terrorism charge must be done in the High Court and not the GCM.
“In respect of the unlawful possession of firearms that is under the UPDF Act, this is just an alternative charge. The rules governing the General Court Martial are very clear and therefore one cannot be charged twice with the same offence. Unlawful possession is just an alternative count and that is why we are not recognising that court (GCM),†Nsibambi said.
Besigye and 22 others were produced before the military court chaired by Gen. Elly Tumwine but they refused to recognise the court. They did not say anything as Tumwine laboured to coax a plea out of them.
The application for the bail was filed in the High Court Criminal Registry on Wednesday evening and is due for allocation to a judge who will hear it.
“The circumstances under which he was charged before the GCM ought to be interpreted by a High Court judge. But according to the law, we cannot apply for his bail in that court,†Nsibambi said.
He said the Constitutional Court ruled that the GCM is a subordinate of the High Court. “Therefore, if Besigye is undergoing trial in a higher court, you cannot ask for bail in the lower court on the same offences that are already in a higher court,†Nsibambi clarified.
Besigye and 22 others, including his brother Joseph Musasizi Kifefe, were committed to the High Court for trial on treason and concealment of treason. He was also charged with rape, on which charges he has already secured bail.
On the treason charges, 14 of his co-accused were granted bail by Justice Edmund Lugayizi but could not walk to freedom following a siege on the court premises by armed men who wanted to re-arrest the suspects pending their appearance in the High Court.
Nsibambi added that besides the GCM being a subordinate of the High Court, the lawyers were also contesting the GCM panel that constitute the court. He said they were supposed to be seven but when Besigye’s co-accused appeared, there were 11 of them and when Besigye appeared, they were nine. “This shows how this court is not properly constituted, rendering it incompetent,†Nsibambi said.
The lawyers also said Besigye retired from the army in 2000 and therefore, it was improper for him and his civilian co-accused to be tried on offences they are alleged to have committed while still in the forces.
However, the Anti Terrorism Act allows for prosecution of civilians in the GCM if they are found with illegal firearms. Besigye is to re-appear in the GCM on December 19.
Ends
RETIRED Col. Kizza Besigye has applied for bail in the High Court in respect of the terrorism charges before the Military General Court Martial (GCM).
His lawyers led by Yusuf Nsibambi argued that the Anti Terrorism Act under which their client was charged provides that the trial and bail in respect of the terrorism charge must be done in the High Court and not the GCM.
“In respect of the unlawful possession of firearms that is under the UPDF Act, this is just an alternative charge. The rules governing the General Court Martial are very clear and therefore one cannot be charged twice with the same offence. Unlawful possession is just an alternative count and that is why we are not recognising that court (GCM),†Nsibambi said.
Besigye and 22 others were produced before the military court chaired by Gen. Elly Tumwine but they refused to recognise the court. They did not say anything as Tumwine laboured to coax a plea out of them.
The application for the bail was filed in the High Court Criminal Registry on Wednesday evening and is due for allocation to a judge who will hear it.
“The circumstances under which he was charged before the GCM ought to be interpreted by a High Court judge. But according to the law, we cannot apply for his bail in that court,†Nsibambi said.
He said the Constitutional Court ruled that the GCM is a subordinate of the High Court. “Therefore, if Besigye is undergoing trial in a higher court, you cannot ask for bail in the lower court on the same offences that are already in a higher court,†Nsibambi clarified.
Besigye and 22 others, including his brother Joseph Musasizi Kifefe, were committed to the High Court for trial on treason and concealment of treason. He was also charged with rape, on which charges he has already secured bail.
On the treason charges, 14 of his co-accused were granted bail by Justice Edmund Lugayizi but could not walk to freedom following a siege on the court premises by armed men who wanted to re-arrest the suspects pending their appearance in the High Court.
Nsibambi added that besides the GCM being a subordinate of the High Court, the lawyers were also contesting the GCM panel that constitute the court. He said they were supposed to be seven but when Besigye’s co-accused appeared, there were 11 of them and when Besigye appeared, they were nine. “This shows how this court is not properly constituted, rendering it incompetent,†Nsibambi said.
The lawyers also said Besigye retired from the army in 2000 and therefore, it was improper for him and his civilian co-accused to be tried on offences they are alleged to have committed while still in the forces.
However, the Anti Terrorism Act allows for prosecution of civilians in the GCM if they are found with illegal firearms. Besigye is to re-appear in the GCM on December 19.
Ends