Besigye back in army court
Mar 01, 2006
THE General Court Martial has reinstated Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye’s name on the charge sheet in which he and 22 other suspects are facing charges of terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms.
By Maurice Okore
THE General Court Martial has reinstated Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye’s name on the charge sheet in which he and 22 other suspects are facing charges of terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms.
Besigye, who lost the just-concluded presidential elections to President Yoweri Museveni, appears as accused number one.
The court chairman, Gen. Elly Tumwine, yesterday said the case against the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC) president had not been dropped.
“The elections are over, so I want you members of the press to report issues as you see them not as you feel,†Tumwine cautioned.
“This court has never dropped charges against the accused number one. This charge sheet has never changed as reported by some sections of the press,†he said.
State prosecutor Maj. Richard Asingura asked court to put the trial on hold until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal filed by the State against the Constitutional Court ruling barring the Court Martial from trying the 23 suspects.
“As we await the decision of the Supreme Court, we pray that the accused persons should be remanded,†Maj. Asingura said.
The suspects were remanded until March 15 when the case will be mentioned. On January 30, the Constitutional Court ruled that the military court had no powers to try the suspects on terrorism charges.
The majority judgment of 4-1 followed a petition filed by the Uganda Law Society (ULS) seeking a constitutional review on the legality of a number of laws that are connected with the arrest, detention, charge and trial of Besigye and his co-accused.
The court said the trial of the suspects at the GCM over terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms, whose ultimate penalty is death, contravened Articles 22(1), 128(1) and 210 of the Constitution.
THE General Court Martial has reinstated Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye’s name on the charge sheet in which he and 22 other suspects are facing charges of terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms.
Besigye, who lost the just-concluded presidential elections to President Yoweri Museveni, appears as accused number one.
The court chairman, Gen. Elly Tumwine, yesterday said the case against the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC) president had not been dropped.
“The elections are over, so I want you members of the press to report issues as you see them not as you feel,†Tumwine cautioned.
“This court has never dropped charges against the accused number one. This charge sheet has never changed as reported by some sections of the press,†he said.
State prosecutor Maj. Richard Asingura asked court to put the trial on hold until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal filed by the State against the Constitutional Court ruling barring the Court Martial from trying the 23 suspects.
“As we await the decision of the Supreme Court, we pray that the accused persons should be remanded,†Maj. Asingura said.
The suspects were remanded until March 15 when the case will be mentioned. On January 30, the Constitutional Court ruled that the military court had no powers to try the suspects on terrorism charges.
The majority judgment of 4-1 followed a petition filed by the Uganda Law Society (ULS) seeking a constitutional review on the legality of a number of laws that are connected with the arrest, detention, charge and trial of Besigye and his co-accused.
The court said the trial of the suspects at the GCM over terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms, whose ultimate penalty is death, contravened Articles 22(1), 128(1) and 210 of the Constitution.