ON AIR: +256781517228 | +256752988955  |  DOWNLOAD OUR APP

Besigye Slapped With More Charges

 

More charges have been slapped against veteran opposition politician Dr. Kizza Besigye and his political associate, Hajj Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya.

The two are appearing before the General Court Martial on charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition allegedly committed in Kenya, Greece and Switzerland.

However, on Monday, the prosecution informed the court that it was amending the charge sheet to add another charge of treachery. 

Additionally, another accused person, a serving UPDF officer, Denis Ola, attached to the armored brigade, was introduced to court. 

“During the course of investigations, some facts were that there is a serving UPDF officer who is connected to the office. So we intend to have the charge sheet amended by the addition of that officer,” the prosecution told the court.

“And we also intend to amend the charge sheet by adding there another count of treachery. So, those are the two amendments we are seeking to amend,” the prosecution added.

However, the lead defense lawyer, Martha Karua, objected to the amendment of the charge sheet.

“We feel that amending to add a person who is serving in the military is meant to preempt the ruling on jurisdiction, because in our view, the court has no jurisdiction on these two gentlemen (Besigye and Lutale),” Karua told the court.

“And we seek that the ruling precedes the amendment of the charges, when we then can raise a full objection, because the charges in the amendment are not sought properly pursuant to the rules of procedure,” she added.

However, the court chairman, Brig. Freeman Mugabe, responded to her that the court martial already ruled that it has jurisdiction to try civilians.

By ChimpReports