{UAH} Did Besigye write his way to freedom? ~ Ugandans At Heart (UAH)

Did Besigye write his way to freedom?

Written by Sulaiman Kakaire

Created: 13 July 2016

A May 30 letter from former presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye to Chief Justice Bart Katureebe, questioning the impartiality of judicial officers in handling his cases, could have forced a rethink within the judiciary. A month later, Besigye was yesterday released on bail; not necessarily a coincidence, as SULAIMAN KAKAIRE reports.

According to some keen watchers of the justice system, if it was not for Dr Besigye's vigilance in alerting the chief justice about his mistreatment, he would be much worse off than he is this morning.

But since Besigye wrote to the head of the judiciary, there has been marked shift in judicial officers' handling of his cases. Only recently, Nakawa court chief magistrate visited Besigye in Luzira prison just to gauge the retired colonel's complaints of violation of his rights.

"Dr Besigye's letter was such an important expose that laid bare all the weaknesses of our justice system and it was so obvious to any observer that it required some action," said one of Besigye's lawyers, who requested anonymity. "It did lay things bare and put everyone, including the chief justice, CJ, on the spot."

After nearly two months in Luzira prison, Dr Kizza Besigye was granted bail on treason charges yesterday. In the photo, he gestures to supporters who escorted him up to his home in Kasangati PHOTO BY NICHOLAS BAMULANZEKI

On May 30, 2016, Besigye wrote to Katureebe urging him to issue necessary instructions to the courts to ensure that his (Besigye's) rights are not trampled on. He claimed that between 2011 and 2016, he became "the subject of regular harassment, accosting, intimidation and multiple arrests".

The four-time presidential candidate added that a series of other events, including Justice Steven Kavuma's ex-parte ruling banning FDC's defiance campaign, brought into question the neutrality of the judiciary.

REACTION

On June 17, Justice Katureebe wrote back to Dr Besigye assuring him that he would act on his letter and the judiciary would ensure his trial takes place in an open court established by law.

On June 21, when Francis Gimara, the Uganda Law Society president, wrote to Katureebe requesting to know what steps the latter had taken to address Besigye's complaints, particularly those concerning the administration of justice, Katureebe revealed the aforementioned measures.

In a reply received by ULS two days later, Katureebe also noted that he had urged judges and other judicial officers to follow the law, and had written to government reminding its officials that the judiciary will only be guided by the law in handling cases involving the former presidential candidate.

Katureebe also reveals that on June 8, the Director of Public Prosecution requested him to invoke his powers under section 7 of the Magistrates' Court Act and formalise the transfer of Besigye's case CRB 332/2016, from the LDC court, where it should have been lodged, to Kasangati court where it was being (illegally) prosecuted. Katureebe says he refused because he was not satisfied.

"My advice was that an accused person must first and foremost be produced in the court within the jurisdiction [where the offence was committed]," he said.

Kizza Besigye addressing his supporters at his home in Kasangati

About the transfer of Besigye's trial from Nakawa chief magistrate's court to Luzira, Katureebe said that when he was informed about it through Dr Besigye's letter, he immediately raised the matter with the principal judge, instructing in writing that "he brings to the attention of all judicial officers the provisions of Article 28 of the constitution particularly that the accused must be produced before a proper court established by law and is entitled to a public hearing."

SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS

In hindsight, it can be assumed that some actions that have been taken to address Besigye's complaints are Katureebe's reaction to the retired colonel's letter. First was the Nakawa chief magistrate's court's ruling that Besigye's treason trial could not be transferred to Luzira.

Next was the attorney general's withdrawal of the defiance campaign case that was pending before the Constitutional court. Similarly, the DPP withdrew the charges against Besigye in relation to the trial proceedings that were taking place in Kasangati court as opposed to the LDC court where the matters should have been heard.

Speaking to The Observer on Monday, Mike Chibita, the director of public prosecutions, said the withdrawal was forced by Katureebe's stance.

"We asked the CJ to invoke his powers to order the transfer but while we were asking, the trial was going on. So, when he declined to grant the transfer, we had to withdraw the case," Chibita said.

Asked whether he was under the influence of any person to act as he acted, Chibita said he did not act at the urging of anyone.

"We are prosecuting all these cases based on the [available] evidence. The one in Kasangati was about disobedience of lawful orders while [for] the treason case, everybody saw him purporting to be sworn into office. It is my duty to prosecute all those who break the law and this is what I was doing," he said.

In regard to the choice of place for the trial, Chibita said the transfer from the original places of trial to others was decided by the national security committee to which he is a member.

"We sit there. They made a request to me for security reasons. And looking at it from the balance of probabilities, I made that decision. But who does not see the disruption he [Besigye] causes when he comes to court. That is what we were trying to avoid," he said.

Chibita said he is not surprised by the criticism against him, saying it was "part of my job".

Katureebe told The Observer on Monday that he acted within the law, citing Section 34 of the Magistrates' Courts Act, which calls for within the geographical jurisdiction where the offence was committed.

"In the instant cases, they wanted to transfer them for security reasons. That is not what the law says. The law says that you can only transfer in the interest of justice. Security and justice are two different things. And, indeed, I advised accordingly," Katureebe said.

He said he acted to avoid a bad precedent: "In future anybody else would be arrested and would be tried anywhere which could be contrary to the law."

skakaire@observer.ug

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