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Preliminary ruling in Dr Nyanzi case for today
Dr Stella Nyanzi
What you need to know:
This means that Dr Nyanzi will have to first undergo a mental examination to ascertain her mental status before the trial can start, a move she is vehemently protesting.
The State wants Dr Nyanzi to be subjected to a mental status examination "based on her history of having facetious behaviour."
KAMPALA. Buganda Road Court is today expected to make its preliminary ruling that will determine whether to halt the proceedings against Makerere University Research fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi, pending the outcome of the constitutional court petition in which she is challenging the move by government to ascertain her sanity.
The outspoken activist who shot to limelight last year due to her acidic social media posts, is facing charges of cybercrime and offensive communication that stemmed from her alleged referral to President Museveni as a “pair of buttocks” on her Facebook page.
The preliminary ruling is expected to be read by Chief Magistrate, Mr James Ereemye.
Dr Nyanzi in her petition before the Constitutional Court, states that she was taken unaware by the government lawyer’s demands to first subject her to a mental examination to ascertain her mental status before she could plead to the aforementioned charges.
She is further challenging the move by the State to subject her to compulsory treatment without her consent and an automatic detention in a mental hospital as an ‘idiot’ in accordance with the Mental Treatment Act.
Given the aforementioned petition before the Constitutional Court, Dr Nyanzi’s lawyers led by Isaac Ssemakadde, had complained to Buganda Road Court about how their client’s trial had delayed to kick off.
But in response, the prosecution through the Resident State Attorney, Mr Jonathan Muwaganya, argued that if Dr Nyanzi wants hearing of her offensive communication case to commence, then she has to withdraw the petition before the Constitutional Court.
This also means that she will have to first undergo a mental examination to ascertain her mental status before the trial can start, a move she is vehemently protesting.
The alternative option that the state prosecutor gave to court was stay the main case at Buganda Road Court and wait for the pronunciation of the Constitutional Court on whether it has a right to first subject Dr Nyanzi to a mental examination test before trial begins or not.
The State wants Dr Nyanzi to be subjected to a mental status examination "based on her history of having facetious behaviour."
Such behaviour as pointed out by the State included; publicly undressing, that while in police detention, she had periodic erratic episodes related to usual behaviour characterised by gross indecent utterances.
