Rape ‘victim’ testifies against Col. Besigye
Jan 05, 2006
The rape trial against Dr. Col Kizza Besigye started yesterday at the High Court before <b>Justice John Bosco Katutsi</b>. <i><b>Hillary Nsambu, Milton Olupot, Anne Mugisa and Hillary Kiirya</b></i> recorded the proceedings.<br><br>AT 9:25am, Justice John Bosco Katutsi enters court as Besigye emer
The rape trial against Dr. Col Kizza Besigye started yesterday at the High Court before Justice John Bosco Katutsi. Hillary Nsambu, Milton Olupot, Anne Mugisa and Hillary Kiirya recorded the proceedings.
AT 9:25am, Justice John Bosco Katutsi enters court as Besigye emerges from the cells under. The Court Clerk calls out the case file number 149 of 2005 Uganda Vs Col. Kizza Besigye.
Prosecution is led by deputy DPP Simon Byabakama Mugenyi (BM) and the defence is led by Sam Njuba. The complainant is Joanita Kyakuwa (JK)
BM: My Lord, for the record I am Byabakama Mugenyi for the prosecution....
Judge: (looks into the dock where Besigye is surrounded by prison warders...and calls out in a harsh voice. Are you also accused persons. Why are you in the dock? (the officers withdraw).
BM: The defence team is led by senior counsel Sam Njuba, assisted by ..... (names the other defence lawyers) .... The last time we closed we had unfinished business of appointing assessors.
Judge: Who is Robert Lubega Seguya (no response), Lubowa Fred (Lubowa stands up) What do you do?
Lubowa: I have just retired from the civil service.
Judge: How old are you
Lubowa: 53 years.
Judge: Where do you reside?
Lubowa: Lunguja, Bulange
Judge: Do you know him (pointing at Besigye).
Lubowa: I have seen him three times in court and in the newspapers.
Judge: Juliet Kasigwa, what do you do?
Kasigwa: I am a business lady. I have a stationary shop.
Judge: Where do you reside?
Kasigwa: Nabweru North.
Judge: Do you know him (pointing at Besigye)
Kasigwa: I just see him, I don’t know him.
Judge: (addresses Njuba) Do you have any objection?
Njuba: I notice that you have not asked for her age....
Judge: Ladies don’t tell their age, just look at her.
Njuba: My lord, she can be deceptive like wine... (audience laughs)... but let them produce their identities...from the ID of Lubowa, he is a paralegal.
Judge: Meaning what?
Njuba: Dealing with legal matters...he may bias the case...we need somebody who has no knowledge of legal matters. (Edward Nume, 55, is selected but later rejected after he fails to swear in. Lubowa and Kasigwa are sworn in)
BM: No objection to the assessors. We are ready to proceed.
Njuba: I beg for your indulgence...I need to make a short application. The defence is ready to proceed but we need a short adjournment of 20 minutes to be able to access our client in a free environment. We were not able to access him in Luzira. We assembled at Luzira on Saturday 10:00am but we were denied access. We want to access him here in court.
Judge: They (warders) were even in the dock. Some of us seem to be still living in 1,000BC. I don’t want to see any warder hovering around. I give you 30 minutes.
10:44am Court resumes and a light-skinned small bodied young lady, apparently in her late 20s, enters the witness box wearing dark shades. Njuba Stands up and mumbles something.....
Judge: You don’t have the right to ask me to summon the witnesses... (he asks whether there are any witnesses for the prosecution and the defence in court. Winnie Byanyima is named as one of the defence witnesses and asked to leave the courtroom. The others are Lt. Matsiko, an LDU in Kabale, the superintendent of Mengo Hospital and Marita Namayanja, all not in court. Both the prosecution and the defence claim Namayanja as their witness)
Njuba: The last time we were in court we asked for the list of prosecution witnesses but we have not got any.
BM: The practice in criminal law is that a witness is challenged on his/her evidence at the time of cross-examination...I don’t see the need at this time.
Judge: Proceed.
BM: What language are you going to speak?
Joanita Kyakuwa (JK): English.
BM: What is your religion?
JK: I am a Catholic (swears in).
BM: What are your full names?.
JK: Kyakuwa Joanita (She is 28 and introduces herself as an unemployed resident of Entebbe).
BM: Do you know this gentlemen (pointing at Besigye in the dock).
JK: Yes, I know him...he is Dr. Kizza Besigye.
BM: How do you know him?
JK: He was my guardian.
BM: Since when.
JK: Between 1997 and 1999. He was helping me even after that.
BM: You were staying with him, where?
JK: At his home in Luzira.
BM: How did you come to his home.
JK: After my A’Level around May 1997.
BM: How did you come to live at his home?
JK: My aunt was a friend to Honourable Winnie Byanyima. I was staying with my aunt Sauda Kibirige...she is now deceased.
BM: How did you end up at Besigye’s home?
JK: After my A’Level, my aunt informed me that I was going to stay with Hon. Byanyima during my vacation.
BM: Did you travel on your own or picked by somebody?
JK: I came with my auntie up to Hon. Winnie’s home.
BM: Joanita, when you came to this home, how many people were there?
JK: Dr. Besigye, Hon. Winnie, Aisha, the maid and a little girl called Sandra and sometimes Amper, Besigye’s son and another Grace. Winnie’s relative sometimes also came around.
BM: How were you received?
JK: I was received very well.
BM: Did your results come out?
JK: Yes, I had passed but not very well to qualify for government sponsorship. I was at St. Charles Lwanga in Masaka.
BM: What happened?
JK: Dr. Besigye asked me what my plans were and I told him that I did not know because my aunt had told me that she could not be able to raise fees for university.
BM: What conclusion did you come out with after your conversation?
JK: He said that it was okay he would help in anyway he could.
BM: What followed?
JK: I told my aunt about it and I went to Makerere University to look for forms.
BM: Did you go alone?
JK: No, I went with Dr. Besigye. He helped me get and fill the forms and we handed them over.
BM: Were you admitted?
JK: Yes...for a Bachelor of Arts in Arts. (Judge looks puzzled by the course name)
BM: My Lord, there are many degree courses now...where you admitted?
JK: Yes, and my aunt gave me some money and Dr. Besigye gave me the balance.
BM: When did you start?
JK: I did not go for the orientation week because I was still looking for a hostel.
BM: Did you get it?
JK: Yes, I got a place in Sankara Hostel on Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road.
BM: Did you move to the hostel?
JK: The first few days, I was going from home but I moved a few weeks later because they were still finishing the construction of the hostel.
BM: When was that.
JK: In October.
BM: Did you stay in the hostel throughout?
JK: No, I used to go home sometimes.
BM: How would you go?
JK: Either the driver or Dr. Besigye would come for me.
BM: During your stay in Besigye’s residence, did anything happen to you?
JK: Yes, sir.
BM: Tell this court.
JK: Whenever I came home, I would take the children out like as in swimming. It was a Saturday when they came for me as usual...the driver came for me from the hostel. He took me to Luzira...home. I found Sandra, the adopted daughter of Dr. Besigye, we went with her to pick Amper from Bugolobi where he used to stay. We went out for leisure.
BM: What time did you return?
JK: At around 7:00pm.
BM: With who?
JK: With the driver.
BM: Where were Amper and Sandra?
JK: We dropped Amper at Bugolobi and Sandra at Maj. Bright Rwamirama’s home and we went back home.
BM: What did you do?
JK: I went into the house and there was Aisha alone.
BM: What followed?
JK: I went and took a shower and then a snack and later on at about 7:30pm, Dr. Besigye came home.
BM: Where were you exactly when Dr. Besigye returned home?
JK: I was downstairs and he was on his own business and later at 8:30pm, I went to the study room to watch TV.
BM: Were you alone in the study room?
JK: Yes sir.
BM: Where was Aisha?
JK: In the kitchen preparing food.
BM: What happened when you were watching TV?
JK: Dr. Besigye came in to watch TV.
BM: Where you dressed?
JK: Yes sir.
BM: How?
JK: I was in shorts and a sleeveless blouse.
BM: What happened?
JK: I greeted him because I had not met him and he asked me how the day was and the children... he sat on the sofa where I was.
BM: What happened?
JK: He said there was nothing good and got the remote and tried to look for something good...good programme, may be news.
BM: Yes, go on
JK: Then all of a sudden, he started touching me.
BM: Touching you where?
JK: Around my thighs.
BM: Then?
JK: I tried to move away...but he started touching me all-over... I was confused and I asked him what was going on and he responded that it was going to be okay. He grabbed me. I tried to pull away but I wouldn’t match him...I was shouting that ‘stop it’, but he told me to stop shouting. Then he grabbed me and carried me to the guest room.
BM: He carried you to the visitor’s room?
JK: Yes, I was trying to fight him off then he pinned me on the bed. I tried to fight to get away but he held my hands (demonstrates how he held her) and said ‘stop shouting’.
He forced my shorts off and the button got off, he pulled it off ...I was putting on knickers and he forced it also off. He was putting on a tracksuit trousers, he pulled it half way, holding me with one hand.
BM: he entered me by force...he had sexual intercourse with me.
Judge: Speak up.
JK: He had sexual intercourse with me by force.
BM: How long did it last?
JK: I don’t know.
BM: Was he putting on anything?
JK: No.
BM: What happened after he entered you?
JK: I gave up as he was more powerful than me.
BM: How did you feel?
JK: I felt betrayal. He got off me and went to the bathroom and came back with a small towel.
BM: What were you doing?
JK: I was shaking and crying...he sat on the bed and gave me the towel to clean up myself.
BM: Did he finish?
JK: I think because there was semen on me. He told me to stop crying but I just run out of the room and went downstairs still crying... I was in pain.
BM: You were in pain, where?
JK: In my private parts... I had bruises. Then the maid came to tell me that the food was on the table. She found me crying and she asked me why I was crying and I told her Dr. Kizza Besigye had raped me. She tried to console me, telling me to keep quiet and go and eat, but I couldn’t see how...that night I did not eat. (breaks down and cries but composes herself shortly after)
BM: You didn’t eat supper?
JK: I did not. I was feeling pain and I was bleeding in my private parts...I had bruises and there was blood.
BM: Did you go to your room that night?
JK: No, I slept with Aisha. I told Aisha that even going for short-call was painful...my private parts were swollen because of the bruises.
BM: What did you do?
JK: I asked her (Aisha) if she could help me and she said she did not know how to help me.
BM: What did you do then?
JK: I went to Dr. Besigye in the study room where he was preparing some papers. I told him I was in pain and he asked me what kind of pain. I told him my private parts are paining even when I am going for short-call. He said wait there and he went and brought a tube and some two tablets and told me that after washing myself, I would apply the medicine in the tube and swallow the tablets, then rest. After the instructions, I asked him why he raped me but he did not reply... I wanted him to say something but he kept quiet. Then I told him that I was going to tell Winnie and my auntie.
BM: Where was Winnie?
JK: She was not around, she had travelled.
BM: How often was she at home?
JK: Most of the weekends she was away.
BM: You said you were going to report?
JK: He said nobody should know about this... in a hard threatening tone. I asked him why... he asked me that, “Have you ever heard of anybody who was put in jail when your father was killed?â€.
Judge: Whose father?
BM: Her father. Who was your father?
JK: Tibamanya Gilvasio ... he was a soldier.
BM: Which army?
JK: NRA...he died in 1991, he was killed.
BM: What did you say?
JK: Nothing.
BM: What did you understand by his statement?
JK: That people can kill and get away with it. He stopped there and went out.
BM: Where did he go?
JK: I don’t know.
BM: When was this, do you remember the date?
JK: It was around November 1997.
BM: What did you do on Sunday morning?
JK: I was sleeping most of the day. But in the evening, I had to go back to the hostel.
BM: Did you go back?
JK: No, I did not. I spent Sunday night at home.
BM: Did you apply the treatment?
JK: Yes.
BM: Where was Besigye?
JK: I don’t know because I did not go to the table.
BM: How were you having your meals?
JK: At table with them.
BM: What happened on Monday?
JK: On Monday morning, he dropped me at the hostel as he was going to work in Bombo.
BM: You returned to the hostel, how were you feeling?
JK: Physically, I was getting better, but I was not feeling well. I hadn’t gotten over the incident. A person who was a father to me, he had done a lot of things that nobody else had done.
BM: Did you resume lectures?
JK: Yes, I did.
BM: Did you report to any authority?
JK: No, I was scared.
BM: why?
JK: He had warned me not to tell anybody.
BM: You were in the hostel. Did you ever go back home?
JK: Yes.
BM: How did you go?
JK: He picked me up.
BM: Who?
JK: Dr. Besigye.
BM: What happened?
JK: I took the children out again for leisure and came back home but I tried to keep out of his way as much as I could and that weekend nothing happened.
BM: Did anything happen to you again?
JK: Yes, I was picked on a weekend, taken home as usual. We did everything as usual then on Sunday, he said he was taking me back to the hostel. He was driving, we passed the hostel and he said he had forgotten something.
BM: Which route did the vehicle take?
JK: Bombo Road.
BM: Then?
JK: We had an accident.
BM: Were you injured?
JK: Yes.
BM: How about him?
JK: Yes, he was injured.
BM: Were you admitted?
JK: Yes, in Mulago Hospital.
BM: For how long?
JK: I was there for two days.
BM: Then where did you go?
JK: To Luzira.
BM: Where was Besigye?
JK: He stayed longer in hospital. Following the accident, I was at home when madam Winnie asked me where we were going. I told her that I was in the car and Dr. Besigye said he had forgotten something.
BM: What followed?
JK: Nothing much.
BM: Was Besigye discharged subsequently?
JK: Yes.
BM: Did you resume lectures?
JK: Yes, but by that time madam Winnie no longer treated me the way she had been treating me before.
BM: Do you know why?
JK: I can only speculate.
BM: Don’t speculate... Did you go back to the hostel?
JK: later I went to Mbarara as my auntie had asked me. When I reached there, she confronted me.
BM: Over what?
JK: After the accident, madam Winnie went to Mbarara and told my auntie that I was spoiling her marriage. Dr. Besigye called me and said as soon as I come back to Kampala, I see him.
BM: Did you return to Kampala?
JK: Yes, I did.
BM: Where?
JK: I went to my uncle Mwogereza Richard’s home and I called Dr. Besigye that I was around and he asked me to go to Luzira.
BM: Did you go to Luzira?
JK: I told him I was scared because we had agreed with my auntie that I don’t go back there.
BM: Then what happened?
JK: He said, ‘come, Winnie is not around’.
BM: Then what followed?
JK: I went there and found him and he told me to write a letter to Winnie, saying that my going with him to Bombo was to show me around because I had never been there and that there was nothing between me and him except as a father.
BM: Did you do that?
JK: At first, I refused because Winnie had gone to Mbarara and spoiled my only relationship with my auntie. But he told me that there was no other way rather than writing the letter. So I wrote the letter.
BM: What did you write?
JK: I wrote what Dr. Besigye had told me to write.
BM: Whom did you give the letter?
JK: I left it with Dr. Besigye and I asked to be dropped at my uncle’s home.
BM: Did you meet Dr. Besigye again?
JK: Yes, we had resumed school in January. I had paid fees but there were some things like the hostel fees that I needed. He told me to go to Bombo barracks where his office was.
BM: This was January 1998?
JK: Yes Sir.
BM: Did you find him?
JK: Yes sir.
BM: Where was the office?
JK: Bombo Barracks. It was lunchtime so he told me to go for lunch.
BM: Where?
JK: he had a home in the barracks. We had lunch prepared by a maid...she was a Nubian also called Aisha. We had lunch and he said, ‘why don’t we move around the house?’ (laughter).
Judge: Please...please this is not a theatre.
BM: Had you ever been to that house?
JK: No.
BM: And then?
JK: There was nothing to see. He took me to the visitors’ room and then to the master bedroom and he had sex with me again.
BM: How did it happen?
JK: From the previous experience, I knew I could not do anything and just let it happen. After that in February, I missed my period.
BM: What did you do?
JK: I didn’t think of it because sometimes I would miss for even three months, but later I started feeling funny.
Matovu (defence lawyer): We have a problem. The evidence we have has only one sexual incident, the second is not disclosed.....
BM: The summary of the evidence is a summary. It does not have everything... (asks JK) Then what happened?
JK: I went back to my uncle’s place and back to the hostel.
BM: So what happened later?
JK: I was feeling funny, so I went to Cardic Clinic in Nankulabye for a pregnancy test and the results were positive.
BM: what did you do next?
JK: I called Dr. Besigye and told him that there was something I needed talk to him about.
BM: What did he tell you?
JK: He told me to go to Luzira, which I did and told him about the pregnancy.
BM: What did he say?
JK: He looked down and said mmmh. He was seated and I was standing, so he told me to wait and he sent the driver who took me back to the hostel. After two days, he phoned me and told me to be ready and that the driver would pick me.
BM: So did the driver pick you?
JK: The driver picked me and took me to Luzira. Dr Besigye then came and told me to enter the car as I was chatting with the maid. I entered the car and he drove and we were only two in the car and drove off. We went and stopped in Kamwokya at Poly Clinic.
BM: What happened there?
JK: He told me to follow him into the clinic. I remained at the reception and Dr. Besigye went inside the room where there were other doctors. After some minutes, he came out with a doctor who told me to follow him to the room and Dr. Besigye told me that the driver would pick me.
BM: Yes?
JK: I later followed the doctor to the room and I asked him what was going on? He also asked me whether I did not know what was going on. He later told me to lie down and told me he was going to help me have an abortion. I was scared and confused. I saw him put on gloves and get a big syringe. I was crying at this moment and he told me to keep quite, asking where I was looking when I got the pregnancy as he inserted the syringe in my vagina. I was feeling a lot of pain but I had to withstand as he pulled blood that he empted into a metallic container on the table.
Judge: (interrupts, asks Byabakama whether the information would not tarnish the image of the clinic) Courts are not there to be used to tarnish people’s images.
BM: My Lord, we are out to get the facts.
Judge: Okay, go on.
JK: the doctor later gave anti-biotics and wrote for me his names on a chit. He told me in case I have a problem, I would contact him.
BM: Yes.
JK: (says she stayed in Bombo for about one week being nursed by the maid. She says she does not know where Aisha is now and that she went back to the clinic after one week)
BM: When was the abortion carried out?
JK: On March 10, 1998. I went back to the clinic twice while still in Bombo.
BM: Did you resume studies?
JK: Yes, I did but was not feeling well. I had stomach problems. I resumed classes but was not concentrating. I did not know why?
BM: What did you next?
JK: I went back to cardic to see a counsellor. He asked me what I was doing there but I really did not know what I was doing there. I did not get attendance because I did not tell him what was happening to me. He later told me to go back.
BM: Yes?
JK: I started seeing the counsellor in April on a weekly basis that later turned to monthly basis. During this time, I was feeling pain, no appetite and weak.
BM: After this episode, did you take a test?
JK: Yes, I did on the advice of Dr. James Lwanga who told me to take an HIV test.
BM: When was this?
JK: I did take one in April 1998 and I tested HIV-positive (breaks down, regains, smiles and turns to the testimony, says she is okay).
BM: What happened after realising that you were HIV-positive?
JK: After the results, I asked the doctor whether it was true. The counsellor then tried to console me.
BM: Were you still getting assistance from Dr. Besigye?
JK: At this time, I was still getting assistance from Dr. Besigye and even explained to him what was going on.
BM: From where did you talk to him about this?
JK: I met him at Speke Hotel and told him that I went for an HIV test and he asked me why I went for it. I told him it was on a doctor’s advice and told him I had tested HIV-positive and asked him whether he had ever taken a test. He said yes and asked him when? He told me in 1988.
BM: Did you see Dr. Besigye after 2001?
JK: Yes, I did because there was an article about me and Besigye in the Uganda Confidential and wanted to see him.
BM: Why did you find it necessary to see him?
JK: I wanted him to advise me because I did not know what to do. I later met him at Crest House and told him that my counsellor had advised me to sue the paper
David Mpanga: (one of Besigye’s lawyers, stands up and objects) “We are here about the 1997 rape case, how does the events in 2001 help in this case? It is of no relevancy. (he is supported by the Judge who ordered that Byabakama sticks to the rape case)
BM: Okay, my Lord. How were you feeling?
JK: I was mentally unstable.
BM: Prior and after the incident, how did you regard Dr. Besigye?
JK: Fatherly and generous.
Case adjourned to Wednesday (tomorrow)
AT 9:25am, Justice John Bosco Katutsi enters court as Besigye emerges from the cells under. The Court Clerk calls out the case file number 149 of 2005 Uganda Vs Col. Kizza Besigye.
Prosecution is led by deputy DPP Simon Byabakama Mugenyi (BM) and the defence is led by Sam Njuba. The complainant is Joanita Kyakuwa (JK)
BM: My Lord, for the record I am Byabakama Mugenyi for the prosecution....
Judge: (looks into the dock where Besigye is surrounded by prison warders...and calls out in a harsh voice. Are you also accused persons. Why are you in the dock? (the officers withdraw).
BM: The defence team is led by senior counsel Sam Njuba, assisted by ..... (names the other defence lawyers) .... The last time we closed we had unfinished business of appointing assessors.
Judge: Who is Robert Lubega Seguya (no response), Lubowa Fred (Lubowa stands up) What do you do?
Lubowa: I have just retired from the civil service.
Judge: How old are you
Lubowa: 53 years.
Judge: Where do you reside?
Lubowa: Lunguja, Bulange
Judge: Do you know him (pointing at Besigye).
Lubowa: I have seen him three times in court and in the newspapers.
Judge: Juliet Kasigwa, what do you do?
Kasigwa: I am a business lady. I have a stationary shop.
Judge: Where do you reside?
Kasigwa: Nabweru North.
Judge: Do you know him (pointing at Besigye)
Kasigwa: I just see him, I don’t know him.
Judge: (addresses Njuba) Do you have any objection?
Njuba: I notice that you have not asked for her age....
Judge: Ladies don’t tell their age, just look at her.
Njuba: My lord, she can be deceptive like wine... (audience laughs)... but let them produce their identities...from the ID of Lubowa, he is a paralegal.
Judge: Meaning what?
Njuba: Dealing with legal matters...he may bias the case...we need somebody who has no knowledge of legal matters. (Edward Nume, 55, is selected but later rejected after he fails to swear in. Lubowa and Kasigwa are sworn in)
BM: No objection to the assessors. We are ready to proceed.
Njuba: I beg for your indulgence...I need to make a short application. The defence is ready to proceed but we need a short adjournment of 20 minutes to be able to access our client in a free environment. We were not able to access him in Luzira. We assembled at Luzira on Saturday 10:00am but we were denied access. We want to access him here in court.
Judge: They (warders) were even in the dock. Some of us seem to be still living in 1,000BC. I don’t want to see any warder hovering around. I give you 30 minutes.
10:44am Court resumes and a light-skinned small bodied young lady, apparently in her late 20s, enters the witness box wearing dark shades. Njuba Stands up and mumbles something.....
Judge: You don’t have the right to ask me to summon the witnesses... (he asks whether there are any witnesses for the prosecution and the defence in court. Winnie Byanyima is named as one of the defence witnesses and asked to leave the courtroom. The others are Lt. Matsiko, an LDU in Kabale, the superintendent of Mengo Hospital and Marita Namayanja, all not in court. Both the prosecution and the defence claim Namayanja as their witness)
Njuba: The last time we were in court we asked for the list of prosecution witnesses but we have not got any.
BM: The practice in criminal law is that a witness is challenged on his/her evidence at the time of cross-examination...I don’t see the need at this time.
Judge: Proceed.
BM: What language are you going to speak?
Joanita Kyakuwa (JK): English.
BM: What is your religion?
JK: I am a Catholic (swears in).
BM: What are your full names?.
JK: Kyakuwa Joanita (She is 28 and introduces herself as an unemployed resident of Entebbe).
BM: Do you know this gentlemen (pointing at Besigye in the dock).
JK: Yes, I know him...he is Dr. Kizza Besigye.
BM: How do you know him?
JK: He was my guardian.
BM: Since when.
JK: Between 1997 and 1999. He was helping me even after that.
BM: You were staying with him, where?
JK: At his home in Luzira.
BM: How did you come to his home.
JK: After my A’Level around May 1997.
BM: How did you come to live at his home?
JK: My aunt was a friend to Honourable Winnie Byanyima. I was staying with my aunt Sauda Kibirige...she is now deceased.
BM: How did you end up at Besigye’s home?
JK: After my A’Level, my aunt informed me that I was going to stay with Hon. Byanyima during my vacation.
BM: Did you travel on your own or picked by somebody?
JK: I came with my auntie up to Hon. Winnie’s home.
BM: Joanita, when you came to this home, how many people were there?
JK: Dr. Besigye, Hon. Winnie, Aisha, the maid and a little girl called Sandra and sometimes Amper, Besigye’s son and another Grace. Winnie’s relative sometimes also came around.
BM: How were you received?
JK: I was received very well.
BM: Did your results come out?
JK: Yes, I had passed but not very well to qualify for government sponsorship. I was at St. Charles Lwanga in Masaka.
BM: What happened?
JK: Dr. Besigye asked me what my plans were and I told him that I did not know because my aunt had told me that she could not be able to raise fees for university.
BM: What conclusion did you come out with after your conversation?
JK: He said that it was okay he would help in anyway he could.
BM: What followed?
JK: I told my aunt about it and I went to Makerere University to look for forms.
BM: Did you go alone?
JK: No, I went with Dr. Besigye. He helped me get and fill the forms and we handed them over.
BM: Were you admitted?
JK: Yes...for a Bachelor of Arts in Arts. (Judge looks puzzled by the course name)
BM: My Lord, there are many degree courses now...where you admitted?
JK: Yes, and my aunt gave me some money and Dr. Besigye gave me the balance.
BM: When did you start?
JK: I did not go for the orientation week because I was still looking for a hostel.
BM: Did you get it?
JK: Yes, I got a place in Sankara Hostel on Sir Apollo Kaggwa Road.
BM: Did you move to the hostel?
JK: The first few days, I was going from home but I moved a few weeks later because they were still finishing the construction of the hostel.
BM: When was that.
JK: In October.
BM: Did you stay in the hostel throughout?
JK: No, I used to go home sometimes.
BM: How would you go?
JK: Either the driver or Dr. Besigye would come for me.
BM: During your stay in Besigye’s residence, did anything happen to you?
JK: Yes, sir.
BM: Tell this court.
JK: Whenever I came home, I would take the children out like as in swimming. It was a Saturday when they came for me as usual...the driver came for me from the hostel. He took me to Luzira...home. I found Sandra, the adopted daughter of Dr. Besigye, we went with her to pick Amper from Bugolobi where he used to stay. We went out for leisure.
BM: What time did you return?
JK: At around 7:00pm.
BM: With who?
JK: With the driver.
BM: Where were Amper and Sandra?
JK: We dropped Amper at Bugolobi and Sandra at Maj. Bright Rwamirama’s home and we went back home.
BM: What did you do?
JK: I went into the house and there was Aisha alone.
BM: What followed?
JK: I went and took a shower and then a snack and later on at about 7:30pm, Dr. Besigye came home.
BM: Where were you exactly when Dr. Besigye returned home?
JK: I was downstairs and he was on his own business and later at 8:30pm, I went to the study room to watch TV.
BM: Were you alone in the study room?
JK: Yes sir.
BM: Where was Aisha?
JK: In the kitchen preparing food.
BM: What happened when you were watching TV?
JK: Dr. Besigye came in to watch TV.
BM: Where you dressed?
JK: Yes sir.
BM: How?
JK: I was in shorts and a sleeveless blouse.
BM: What happened?
JK: I greeted him because I had not met him and he asked me how the day was and the children... he sat on the sofa where I was.
BM: What happened?
JK: He said there was nothing good and got the remote and tried to look for something good...good programme, may be news.
BM: Yes, go on
JK: Then all of a sudden, he started touching me.
BM: Touching you where?
JK: Around my thighs.
BM: Then?
JK: I tried to move away...but he started touching me all-over... I was confused and I asked him what was going on and he responded that it was going to be okay. He grabbed me. I tried to pull away but I wouldn’t match him...I was shouting that ‘stop it’, but he told me to stop shouting. Then he grabbed me and carried me to the guest room.
BM: He carried you to the visitor’s room?
JK: Yes, I was trying to fight him off then he pinned me on the bed. I tried to fight to get away but he held my hands (demonstrates how he held her) and said ‘stop shouting’.
He forced my shorts off and the button got off, he pulled it off ...I was putting on knickers and he forced it also off. He was putting on a tracksuit trousers, he pulled it half way, holding me with one hand.
BM: he entered me by force...he had sexual intercourse with me.
Judge: Speak up.
JK: He had sexual intercourse with me by force.
BM: How long did it last?
JK: I don’t know.
BM: Was he putting on anything?
JK: No.
BM: What happened after he entered you?
JK: I gave up as he was more powerful than me.
BM: How did you feel?
JK: I felt betrayal. He got off me and went to the bathroom and came back with a small towel.
BM: What were you doing?
JK: I was shaking and crying...he sat on the bed and gave me the towel to clean up myself.
BM: Did he finish?
JK: I think because there was semen on me. He told me to stop crying but I just run out of the room and went downstairs still crying... I was in pain.
BM: You were in pain, where?
JK: In my private parts... I had bruises. Then the maid came to tell me that the food was on the table. She found me crying and she asked me why I was crying and I told her Dr. Kizza Besigye had raped me. She tried to console me, telling me to keep quiet and go and eat, but I couldn’t see how...that night I did not eat. (breaks down and cries but composes herself shortly after)
BM: You didn’t eat supper?
JK: I did not. I was feeling pain and I was bleeding in my private parts...I had bruises and there was blood.
BM: Did you go to your room that night?
JK: No, I slept with Aisha. I told Aisha that even going for short-call was painful...my private parts were swollen because of the bruises.
BM: What did you do?
JK: I asked her (Aisha) if she could help me and she said she did not know how to help me.
BM: What did you do then?
JK: I went to Dr. Besigye in the study room where he was preparing some papers. I told him I was in pain and he asked me what kind of pain. I told him my private parts are paining even when I am going for short-call. He said wait there and he went and brought a tube and some two tablets and told me that after washing myself, I would apply the medicine in the tube and swallow the tablets, then rest. After the instructions, I asked him why he raped me but he did not reply... I wanted him to say something but he kept quiet. Then I told him that I was going to tell Winnie and my auntie.
BM: Where was Winnie?
JK: She was not around, she had travelled.
BM: How often was she at home?
JK: Most of the weekends she was away.
BM: You said you were going to report?
JK: He said nobody should know about this... in a hard threatening tone. I asked him why... he asked me that, “Have you ever heard of anybody who was put in jail when your father was killed?â€.
Judge: Whose father?
BM: Her father. Who was your father?
JK: Tibamanya Gilvasio ... he was a soldier.
BM: Which army?
JK: NRA...he died in 1991, he was killed.
BM: What did you say?
JK: Nothing.
BM: What did you understand by his statement?
JK: That people can kill and get away with it. He stopped there and went out.
BM: Where did he go?
JK: I don’t know.
BM: When was this, do you remember the date?
JK: It was around November 1997.
BM: What did you do on Sunday morning?
JK: I was sleeping most of the day. But in the evening, I had to go back to the hostel.
BM: Did you go back?
JK: No, I did not. I spent Sunday night at home.
BM: Did you apply the treatment?
JK: Yes.
BM: Where was Besigye?
JK: I don’t know because I did not go to the table.
BM: How were you having your meals?
JK: At table with them.
BM: What happened on Monday?
JK: On Monday morning, he dropped me at the hostel as he was going to work in Bombo.
BM: You returned to the hostel, how were you feeling?
JK: Physically, I was getting better, but I was not feeling well. I hadn’t gotten over the incident. A person who was a father to me, he had done a lot of things that nobody else had done.
BM: Did you resume lectures?
JK: Yes, I did.
BM: Did you report to any authority?
JK: No, I was scared.
BM: why?
JK: He had warned me not to tell anybody.
BM: You were in the hostel. Did you ever go back home?
JK: Yes.
BM: How did you go?
JK: He picked me up.
BM: Who?
JK: Dr. Besigye.
BM: What happened?
JK: I took the children out again for leisure and came back home but I tried to keep out of his way as much as I could and that weekend nothing happened.
BM: Did anything happen to you again?
JK: Yes, I was picked on a weekend, taken home as usual. We did everything as usual then on Sunday, he said he was taking me back to the hostel. He was driving, we passed the hostel and he said he had forgotten something.
BM: Which route did the vehicle take?
JK: Bombo Road.
BM: Then?
JK: We had an accident.
BM: Were you injured?
JK: Yes.
BM: How about him?
JK: Yes, he was injured.
BM: Were you admitted?
JK: Yes, in Mulago Hospital.
BM: For how long?
JK: I was there for two days.
BM: Then where did you go?
JK: To Luzira.
BM: Where was Besigye?
JK: He stayed longer in hospital. Following the accident, I was at home when madam Winnie asked me where we were going. I told her that I was in the car and Dr. Besigye said he had forgotten something.
BM: What followed?
JK: Nothing much.
BM: Was Besigye discharged subsequently?
JK: Yes.
BM: Did you resume lectures?
JK: Yes, but by that time madam Winnie no longer treated me the way she had been treating me before.
BM: Do you know why?
JK: I can only speculate.
BM: Don’t speculate... Did you go back to the hostel?
JK: later I went to Mbarara as my auntie had asked me. When I reached there, she confronted me.
BM: Over what?
JK: After the accident, madam Winnie went to Mbarara and told my auntie that I was spoiling her marriage. Dr. Besigye called me and said as soon as I come back to Kampala, I see him.
BM: Did you return to Kampala?
JK: Yes, I did.
BM: Where?
JK: I went to my uncle Mwogereza Richard’s home and I called Dr. Besigye that I was around and he asked me to go to Luzira.
BM: Did you go to Luzira?
JK: I told him I was scared because we had agreed with my auntie that I don’t go back there.
BM: Then what happened?
JK: He said, ‘come, Winnie is not around’.
BM: Then what followed?
JK: I went there and found him and he told me to write a letter to Winnie, saying that my going with him to Bombo was to show me around because I had never been there and that there was nothing between me and him except as a father.
BM: Did you do that?
JK: At first, I refused because Winnie had gone to Mbarara and spoiled my only relationship with my auntie. But he told me that there was no other way rather than writing the letter. So I wrote the letter.
BM: What did you write?
JK: I wrote what Dr. Besigye had told me to write.
BM: Whom did you give the letter?
JK: I left it with Dr. Besigye and I asked to be dropped at my uncle’s home.
BM: Did you meet Dr. Besigye again?
JK: Yes, we had resumed school in January. I had paid fees but there were some things like the hostel fees that I needed. He told me to go to Bombo barracks where his office was.
BM: This was January 1998?
JK: Yes Sir.
BM: Did you find him?
JK: Yes sir.
BM: Where was the office?
JK: Bombo Barracks. It was lunchtime so he told me to go for lunch.
BM: Where?
JK: he had a home in the barracks. We had lunch prepared by a maid...she was a Nubian also called Aisha. We had lunch and he said, ‘why don’t we move around the house?’ (laughter).
Judge: Please...please this is not a theatre.
BM: Had you ever been to that house?
JK: No.
BM: And then?
JK: There was nothing to see. He took me to the visitors’ room and then to the master bedroom and he had sex with me again.
BM: How did it happen?
JK: From the previous experience, I knew I could not do anything and just let it happen. After that in February, I missed my period.
BM: What did you do?
JK: I didn’t think of it because sometimes I would miss for even three months, but later I started feeling funny.
Matovu (defence lawyer): We have a problem. The evidence we have has only one sexual incident, the second is not disclosed.....
BM: The summary of the evidence is a summary. It does not have everything... (asks JK) Then what happened?
JK: I went back to my uncle’s place and back to the hostel.
BM: So what happened later?
JK: I was feeling funny, so I went to Cardic Clinic in Nankulabye for a pregnancy test and the results were positive.
BM: what did you do next?
JK: I called Dr. Besigye and told him that there was something I needed talk to him about.
BM: What did he tell you?
JK: He told me to go to Luzira, which I did and told him about the pregnancy.
BM: What did he say?
JK: He looked down and said mmmh. He was seated and I was standing, so he told me to wait and he sent the driver who took me back to the hostel. After two days, he phoned me and told me to be ready and that the driver would pick me.
BM: So did the driver pick you?
JK: The driver picked me and took me to Luzira. Dr Besigye then came and told me to enter the car as I was chatting with the maid. I entered the car and he drove and we were only two in the car and drove off. We went and stopped in Kamwokya at Poly Clinic.
BM: What happened there?
JK: He told me to follow him into the clinic. I remained at the reception and Dr. Besigye went inside the room where there were other doctors. After some minutes, he came out with a doctor who told me to follow him to the room and Dr. Besigye told me that the driver would pick me.
BM: Yes?
JK: I later followed the doctor to the room and I asked him what was going on? He also asked me whether I did not know what was going on. He later told me to lie down and told me he was going to help me have an abortion. I was scared and confused. I saw him put on gloves and get a big syringe. I was crying at this moment and he told me to keep quite, asking where I was looking when I got the pregnancy as he inserted the syringe in my vagina. I was feeling a lot of pain but I had to withstand as he pulled blood that he empted into a metallic container on the table.
Judge: (interrupts, asks Byabakama whether the information would not tarnish the image of the clinic) Courts are not there to be used to tarnish people’s images.
BM: My Lord, we are out to get the facts.
Judge: Okay, go on.
JK: the doctor later gave anti-biotics and wrote for me his names on a chit. He told me in case I have a problem, I would contact him.
BM: Yes.
JK: (says she stayed in Bombo for about one week being nursed by the maid. She says she does not know where Aisha is now and that she went back to the clinic after one week)
BM: When was the abortion carried out?
JK: On March 10, 1998. I went back to the clinic twice while still in Bombo.
BM: Did you resume studies?
JK: Yes, I did but was not feeling well. I had stomach problems. I resumed classes but was not concentrating. I did not know why?
BM: What did you next?
JK: I went back to cardic to see a counsellor. He asked me what I was doing there but I really did not know what I was doing there. I did not get attendance because I did not tell him what was happening to me. He later told me to go back.
BM: Yes?
JK: I started seeing the counsellor in April on a weekly basis that later turned to monthly basis. During this time, I was feeling pain, no appetite and weak.
BM: After this episode, did you take a test?
JK: Yes, I did on the advice of Dr. James Lwanga who told me to take an HIV test.
BM: When was this?
JK: I did take one in April 1998 and I tested HIV-positive (breaks down, regains, smiles and turns to the testimony, says she is okay).
BM: What happened after realising that you were HIV-positive?
JK: After the results, I asked the doctor whether it was true. The counsellor then tried to console me.
BM: Were you still getting assistance from Dr. Besigye?
JK: At this time, I was still getting assistance from Dr. Besigye and even explained to him what was going on.
BM: From where did you talk to him about this?
JK: I met him at Speke Hotel and told him that I went for an HIV test and he asked me why I went for it. I told him it was on a doctor’s advice and told him I had tested HIV-positive and asked him whether he had ever taken a test. He said yes and asked him when? He told me in 1988.
BM: Did you see Dr. Besigye after 2001?
JK: Yes, I did because there was an article about me and Besigye in the Uganda Confidential and wanted to see him.
BM: Why did you find it necessary to see him?
JK: I wanted him to advise me because I did not know what to do. I later met him at Crest House and told him that my counsellor had advised me to sue the paper
David Mpanga: (one of Besigye’s lawyers, stands up and objects) “We are here about the 1997 rape case, how does the events in 2001 help in this case? It is of no relevancy. (he is supported by the Judge who ordered that Byabakama sticks to the rape case)
BM: Okay, my Lord. How were you feeling?
JK: I was mentally unstable.
BM: Prior and after the incident, how did you regard Dr. Besigye?
JK: Fatherly and generous.
Case adjourned to Wednesday (tomorrow)