Byanyima, Sabiti to compensate judges

Oct 03, 2007

EMBATTLED UN employee Winnie Byanyima and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) treasurer Jack Sabiti have apologised to two judges for alleging that they took a bribe from State House in the run-up to the 2006 presidential elections.

By Madinah Tebajjukira

EMBATTLED UN employee Winnie Byanyima and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) treasurer Jack Sabiti have apologised to two judges for alleging that they took a bribe from State House in the run-up to the 2006 presidential elections.

In a consent judgment signed yesterday, they also also agreed to pay sh35m to the judges as damages and compensation and to bear the cost of the suit.

In December 2005, Byanyima and Sabiti claimed that the deputy chief Justice, Laeticia Kikonyogo, and judge Remmy Kasule received sh300m to ensure that FDC president Kizza Besigye, who was on charges of treason, would not be released.

Kikonyogo, they purported, had received sh200m and Kasule sh100m through the military intelligence office.

They wrote their accusations in a confidential letter to the chief justice, Benjamin Odoki, asking him to investigate the judges.

In an apology dated August 3, attached to the consent judgment, Byanyima and Sabiti conceded that their information was baseless.

“Though at the time of writing to the chief justice, we believed the information we had received to be reliable, we have since learnt that there was no foundation whatsoever, in the allegations of the bribery,” reads the apology.

“We, therefore, accordingly wish to take this opportunity to withdraw those most unfortunate accusations of bribery.”

In the apology, Byanyima and Sabiti express their regret to the two judges and their families “for distress, embarrassment, humiliation, and anguish caused to them by the report to the chief justice”. They agreed to compensate Kikonyogo at the tune of sh20m and Kasule at the tune of sh15m, to be paid withing 30 days.

They also agreed to publicise their apology in prominent print and broadcastmedia both inside and outside Uganda.

The judges had sued the FDC officials for defamation. The Police had also instituted criminal charges against them. However, the trial of the criminal case was put on halt in July this year because Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala had started mediation efforts between the two parties.

In 2006, the judges rejected the first apology by Byanyima and Sabiti, demanding that damages be paid and their source of the information be named.

Byanyima and Sabiti later named three people, Lt. Katungi, Pte. Lwanga and a private lawyer, Kiyemba Mutale, as their sources.

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