Besigye, PRA suspects file new case
Apr 25, 2007
THE Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president and 10 other Peoples’ Redemption Army rebel suspects have petitioned the Constitutional Court over their prosecution.
THE Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president and 10 other Peoples’ Redemption Army rebel suspects have petitioned the Constitutional Court over their prosecution, writes Hillary Nsambu.
Retired Col. Kizza Besigye and the others want the court to permanently block the Government from prosecuting them in either civil or military courts.
They contend that the State is violating their rights, by bringing different charges against them in order to deny them the bail that had already been granted by the High Court.
Besigye and his co-accused were charged with treason and concealment of treason in 2005.
However, their trial before Justice Vincent Kagaba was temporarily stopped because they applied to the Constitutional Court to block former commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) from testifying against them.
Onen Kamdulu, a former LRA commander had been listed as a state witness. The Constitutional Court has, however, since ruled that Kamdulu could testify.
And before the treason case could resume in the High Court, the State charged them with murder.
They also face terrorism charges in the General Court Martial and murder charges in the civil courts.
In their petition filed on Monday by their lawyers, A.F. Mpanga Advocates, the suspects say: “The State is using the court to initiate and prosecute them for any charges whatsoever arising out of an alleged plot to overthrow the Government by force of arms.â€
They complained that various officials, authorities and agencies of the State have deliberately violated the Constitution in an attempt to keep them in prison.
The petitioners want the court to declare that the security personnel violated the Constitution when they re-arrested them at the High Court on March 1.
They also said distributing them to different prisons after the March arrest as well as the different trials in civil and military courts, were unconstitutional.
Retired Col. Kizza Besigye and the others want the court to permanently block the Government from prosecuting them in either civil or military courts.
They contend that the State is violating their rights, by bringing different charges against them in order to deny them the bail that had already been granted by the High Court.
Besigye and his co-accused were charged with treason and concealment of treason in 2005.
However, their trial before Justice Vincent Kagaba was temporarily stopped because they applied to the Constitutional Court to block former commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) from testifying against them.
Onen Kamdulu, a former LRA commander had been listed as a state witness. The Constitutional Court has, however, since ruled that Kamdulu could testify.
And before the treason case could resume in the High Court, the State charged them with murder.
They also face terrorism charges in the General Court Martial and murder charges in the civil courts.
In their petition filed on Monday by their lawyers, A.F. Mpanga Advocates, the suspects say: “The State is using the court to initiate and prosecute them for any charges whatsoever arising out of an alleged plot to overthrow the Government by force of arms.â€
They complained that various officials, authorities and agencies of the State have deliberately violated the Constitution in an attempt to keep them in prison.
The petitioners want the court to declare that the security personnel violated the Constitution when they re-arrested them at the High Court on March 1.
They also said distributing them to different prisons after the March arrest as well as the different trials in civil and military courts, were unconstitutional.