Pursue an order mandating compensation of US$10,000 for each of the accused by Uganda and Kenya governments.
Three Ugandan lawyers have petitioned the Arusha based East African Court seeking to stop trail of retired Col Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused Hajji Obed Lutale Kamulegeya in the court martial.
These three lawyers, all human rights defenders Andrew Karamagi, Godwin Toko and Odur Anthony sued both the Attorney Generals (AGs)of Uganda and Kenya in their liability capacity through law firms of Kizza and Mugisha Advocates and Arinaitwe Peter Advocates on Dec 4/2024.
Dr Kizza Besigye a former President of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) is the First Applicant in the suit before the East African Court of justice registered as reference 56 of 2024 filed on December 4, 2024.
“Among the declarations the applicants seek is for this regional court to rule that; Extraterritorial abduction and extraordinary redemption of Besigye and Lutale from Kenya to Uganda was illegal, arbitrary and contrary to rule of law, democracy and good governance principles enshrined in Articles 6(d), 7(2) and 8(120 of the Treaty”, the reference filed by the duo’s lawyers from Kiiza and Mugisha Advocates and Arinaitwe Peter says in part.
Besigye a four-time presidential candidate and Obed Lutale are on remand in Luzira Upper prison on charges of trying to destabilize the security of the county using two pistols and eight live ammunitions, a charge they refused to take a plea on.
The Applicants argue that the two individuals, who were lawfully cleared by immigration authorities at Entebbe and Jomo Kenyatta International Airports on November 16, 2024, were invited by Hon. Martha Karua to attend a book launch event in Nairobi, Kenya, scheduled for the next day.
“On the same day [November 16], the duo was unlawfully arrested by the Respondents’ security operatives driven through Malaba, the Uganda Kenya boarder and returned to Uganda against their will without following due process. On their forceful return from Kenya, they were illegally detained incommunicado for more than 48 hours in Makindye military barracks,” the plaint in part alleges.
The applicants further contend that the detention of the two individuals in a military facility not gazetted for civilian detention, constitutes a blatant contravention of several provisions of the constitution of Uganda, and multiple articles of the treaty which obligate Partner States to abide by the principles of good governance and democracy.
Upon receiving this petition, the Registrar of this court, being the court of first instance, has given both the Attorney Generals of Uganda and Kenya 35 days to file their respective responses or else the case will be heard and determined in their absence.
Army Court proceedings are null and void.
The applicants also aver that the “impugned” military proceedings taking place in the army court, are contempt of court citing the December 15, 2022 orders of the Constitutional Court, which stopped and nullified trials of civilians in military courts going by Petition No 44 of 2015; of retired Capt. Amon Byarugaba and others versus the Attorney General of Uganda.
That the Constitutional Court decision among other things; declared and ordered that the exercise of jurisdiction by military courts to try civilians for criminal offences is unconstitutional.
The court however ruled that the convictions and sentences of civilians which arose from criminal cases tried by military courts prior to the date of judgment (December 15, 2022) are valid.
“The UPDF Act, 2005, to the extent that it may be understood as conferring jurisdiction on military courts but are pending trail, or have been partly tried, should immediately be transferred to a competent civilian court of Judicature, and taken over by the Director of Public Prosecutions”, the Constitutional Court added.
In their petition, the applicants contend that Kenya’s security agencies aided and abetted the impugned extraterritorial abduction and extraordinary redemption of these two individuals from Kenya to Uganda.
They in addition accuse Uganda’s military court for charging the two individuals with offences that allegedly took place in Kenya, Switzerland and Greece.
Among other orders the applicants are seeking is for this regional court to declare that Uganda’s incommunicado military detention of Besigye and Lutale between November 16th and 20th of 2024 was illegal, capricious and contrary to rule of law.
They also seek a permanent injunction barring any military court from trying civilians.
By; Siraje Lubwama,
Senior Investigative Journalist in crime, court land matters, human Rights.
Freelance Journalist, with Alternative Digitalk