The Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Mariam Wangadya, has called on the state to drop charges against the veteran opposition leader, Col (Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye, and his accomplice, Hajj Obed Lutale, who are currently facing trial in the General Court Martial at Makindye.
The two were remanded to Luzira Prison on November 20, 2024, on allegations of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and are expected to reappear in court on December 2, 2024.
In a statement issued on Thursday, November 21, 2024, Wangadya criticized the manner in which the arrests were conducted and questioned their legal justification.
“I call upon the state to drop the charges against Dr. Kizza Besigye and Hajj Lutale Obed in the Court Martial. Their arrest on foreign soil in such a secretive manner was uncalled for,” she said.
The UHRC chairperson further emphasized that the arrests did not align with any immediate security concerns.
“There was no imminent threat against Uganda to necessitate this,” she stated, challenging the rationale behind the dramatic operation.
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Citing legal inconsistencies, Wangadya described the charge sheet presented in the Court Martial as “incurably defective” and called for the matter to be pursued appropriately.
“Fresh charges may be brought in courts of judicature subject to the evidence gathered since these two men are civilians,” she noted.
Wangadya also revealed that she had contacted her Kenyan counterpart, Dr. Roselyn Odede, the Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, for clarity on the circumstances surrounding Besigye’s disappearance. She added, “In her view, this was an abduction,” reinforcing the need for accountability and adherence to international human rights standards.
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Adding to the outcry, Governor James Orengo of Siaya county in Kenya described the abduction of Dr. Besigye in Nairobi and his forcible transfer to Uganda as a gross violation of Kenya’s constitutional and democratic principles.
On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, during their appearance before the General Court Martial in Makindye presided over by Brig Gen Freeman Mugabe, the Chairman of the General Court Martial, Dr. Besigye and Hajj Lutale pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their lawyer, Erias Lukwago, strongly contested the jurisdiction of the Court Martial, saying that the alleged offenses were committed outside Uganda’s territory.
