Besigye and his partner in the dock
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Prison authorities have been thrown into panic as veteran opposition politician, Kiiza Besigye goes on a second hunger strike in less than 3 months of detention at the at Luzira Maximum security prison.
The cause of his hunger strike, Habari Daily can disclose, is his continued detention following the January 31st Supreme Court ruling that ordered for a halt to the prosecution of civilians in the General Court Martial.
In the land mark ruling, court further directed that the files of those civilians with ongoing court cases in the General Court Martial be transferred to ordinary courts with competent jurisdiction.
Government is yet to heed the court’s call to try the civilians in ordinary courts, even as the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka directed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) liase with the General Court Martial and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to take over ongoing crime trials in the military courts that have been identified for transfer.
Besigye and his political aide, Hajj Obed Lutale, among other civilians have ongoing cases in military courts which are yet to be concluded. Besigye was arrested in October last year in Nairobi Kenya, under what was termed as illegal possession of fire arms and ammunition and treachery.
Besigye, the four-time Presidential aspirant facing an earlier arrest
The lawyers representing the dual have has asked the Government to release them on grounds that their remand warrants expired iof February 3rd, to no avail.
“Besigye is likely to die in jail if not given ample medical care and special food since he has been rendered weak physically through continued detention,” said a Kampala-based political commentator on condition of anonymity
Recently, Ingrid Turinawe, the People’s Front for Freedom promoter, with three others were arrested by Police while at Parliament Gate and Constitutional Square as they tried to deliver an intention to sue notice to the Attorney General.
By press time, they were still in detention in different police cells.
Turinawe, who gave the Attorney General four days to ensure that Besigye and other political prisoners who were being held in military court, expressed their desire to sue Government if the Supreme Court’s directive is not respected.
