Kagaba to try Besigye
Feb 10, 2006
<b>KAMPALA, Friday </b> — Ugandan court authorities on Monday assigned a new judge to preside over the treason trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye after another judge who was trying him abruptly quit the case last week.
KAMPALA, Friday — Ugandan court authorities on Monday assigned a new judge to preside over the treason trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye after another judge who was trying him abruptly quit the case last week.
The chief judge of the High Court named Justice Vincent Kagaba to the case, court registrar Lawrence Gidudu said.
Kagaba will be the third judge to oversee the proceedings that have sparked charges of political interference.
After several delays, the trial is currently scheduled to start on February 15, just eight days before elections in which Besigye, the leader of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), is the main challenger to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
On Friday, High Court Justice John Bosco Katutsi stunned a packed courtroom when he announced that he was withdrawing from the treason case against Besigye and 22 co-accused for health reasons and questions about his impartiality.
Katutsi was the judge in a separate rape trial against Besigye and is expected to deliver his verdict in that case soon.
Besigye is currently on the ballot for the February 23 polls but his candidacy will be nullified if he is convicted on any of the charges he faces.
The treason charges relate to allegations that Besigye and the other accused colluded with rebel groups to forment a coup after elections in 2001 that he lost to Museveni.
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The chief judge of the High Court named Justice Vincent Kagaba to the case, court registrar Lawrence Gidudu said.
Kagaba will be the third judge to oversee the proceedings that have sparked charges of political interference.
After several delays, the trial is currently scheduled to start on February 15, just eight days before elections in which Besigye, the leader of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), is the main challenger to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
On Friday, High Court Justice John Bosco Katutsi stunned a packed courtroom when he announced that he was withdrawing from the treason case against Besigye and 22 co-accused for health reasons and questions about his impartiality.
Katutsi was the judge in a separate rape trial against Besigye and is expected to deliver his verdict in that case soon.
Besigye is currently on the ballot for the February 23 polls but his candidacy will be nullified if he is convicted on any of the charges he faces.
The treason charges relate to allegations that Besigye and the other accused colluded with rebel groups to forment a coup after elections in 2001 that he lost to Museveni.
Ends