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State decision to drop treason charges surprises Dr Besigye
Former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye addresses members of the newly-formed pressure group, The People’s Front for Transition, at Jeema offices in Mengo, Kampala, last week. PHOTO | ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Rules out court. “In this particular one (dropped treason case), I know we could sue and ask for lots of money in compensation for damages, but I have decided not to. We have decided to first fight and when we win the battle, we shall see what next after here,” Dr Kizza Besigye, political activist.
Former presidential candidate, Col (Rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye, has said he was unaware of the State dropping the treason charges he was battling for more than five years.
Dr Besigye was arrested in May 2016 for allegedly swearing-in himself as president.
The withdrawal of the case was done in December 2019 during Justice Mike Chibita’s reign as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Dr Besigye yesterday said he had stopped reporting to court over the case after going there three times and every time he was told the investigations were incomplete.
“I didn’t know that they had actually dropped the case, I called my lawyers and asked them whether they had been informed about the dropped case and they were unaware too,” Dr Besigye said during a press conference at Jeema offices in Kampala yesterday.
When asked whether he would sue government for damages for malicious prosecution, he said despite having all the rights to do so, he would not waste time on it.
“I know that in all the cases that they have charged me with, they have all been trumped up. I don’t have any case to answer in any of them,” Dr Besigye said.
“In this particular one, I know we could sue and ask for lots of money in compensation for damages but I have decided not to. We have decided to first fight and when we win the battle, we shall see what next after here,” he added.
The treason charges against Dr Besigye arose after a video clip of the alleged swearing-in went viral on social media on May 11, 2016, on the eve of President Museveni’s swearing-in for the fifth elective term at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala. Dr Besigye was first charged with treason in Moroto District before he was transferred to Nakawa court in Kampala and charged afresh.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Ernest Kalibaala, one of his lawyers, welcomed the development before questioning the motive of the DPP of continuously bringing flimsy charges against his client.
“For any person charged with any offence, if the DPP decides to discontinue the case, it is a welcome decision but of course, we always go back to the question to why they arrest people and later find that they had not committed the said offence,” Mr Kalibaala said.
He added: “Clearly, this one was a charge which had no basis as it was a response to a political situation to settle political scores. Dr Besigye must be the most charged Ugandan and also with the most withdrawn cases.’’
Prior to the dropping of the case, Dr Besigye had refused to return to the court, citing delay in concluding investigations and having him committed to the High Court to stand trial.
“This matter has been going on for over eight months and it has extremely constrained me. It is costly both in time and resources moving to this court over charges that are not going anywhere,” he said at his last court appearance in 2017.
