The Rukungiri chief magistrate’s court has today deferred the case in which Dr. Kiiza Besigye, the FDC Secretary for Mobilisation Ingrid Turinawe and four other party officials are accused of murder, inciting violence and occasioning malicious damage.
Appearing before chief magistrate Julius Borore, the six that also included FDC presidential candidates Patrick Amuriat Oboi and Moses Byamukama; Rukungiri councilor Innocent Tashobya and Fred Asiimwe, were told to report back on February 20, 2018.
Details indicate the group allegedly damaged a police vehicle in Rukungiri during the scuffle between the FDC supporters and police on February 20, 2018, in which one FDC supporter called Edison Nasasira died. A postmortem report conducted at Karoli Lwanga Hospital – Nyakibale and Nurses Training Centre, indicated Nasasira was killed by a bullet.
The group was arrested in Rukungiri where they had gone they had gone to canvass votes for Amuriat, with police claiming it was not notified. The FDC officials were later to be detained at Nagalama Police Station for over a week before being produced in court.
Meanwhile, after court adjourning the session in Rukungiri, Dr. Besigye was whisked off to Mbarara where he was arrested on Tuesday, to face other charges.
Background
Dr. Kizza Besigye and his driver Fred Kato, Ronald Mugume and FDC mobiliser Ms.Turinawe among other FDC supporters were arrested and detained at Mbarara central police station on Tuesday this week while on their way to address a rally at Kakyeka stadium in Mbarara, to canvass votes for FDC presidential candidate Amuriat Oboi.
According to Byamugisha, another FDC presidential candidate, his fellow contestant Amuriat Oboi and Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa were also arrested as they paid a visit to imprisoned Dr Besigye and Ms. Turinawe.
However, by press time today Amuriat, a former MP for Kumi, and Munyagwa had been granted Shs 5million non-cash bail by Mbarara Grade One Magistrate Sanyu Mukasa.
It should be recalled that on Tuesday, November 14 the FDC petitioned High Court, seeking it to restrain the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kale Kayihura from disrupting the party’s presidential campaigns.
Through Sewankambo and Company Advocates, Buhweju MP Francis Mwijukye who filed the petition said in August the FDC Secretary General Nandala Mafabi wrote a letter to the IGP notifying him about party campaigns and that Gen Kayihura responded, imploring the FDC ‘to cooperate with police for smooth running of their activities.
“The police, under the guise of the Public Order and Management Act (POMA), is disrupting our campaigns with arguments that police was not informed about FDC rallies,”Mwijukye said on Tuesday.
