Ono Bwino can exclusively report that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lino Anguzu’s decision to withdraw his application where he wanted to hide his key state witnesses who are set to testify against opposition strongman Dr Kizza Besigye, his political assistant Haji Obed Lutale Kamulegeya and others resulted from a heated State House meeting chaired by President Museveni himself.
Anguzu withdrew the said application when State lead prosecutor in the said matter Thomas Jatiko was set to re-examine Senior Prosecutor Joseph Kyomuhendo who was giving testimony supporting the application of hiding the key witnesses.
Dr Besigye’s lawyers including incarcerated Constitutional law giant and former Kampala city Lord Mayor Ssalongo Erias Lukwago, Ernest Kalibbala and Fred Mpanga grilled Kyomuhendo on why State wanted to hide key witnesses in the highly public interested matter like that which made the application a public discussion.
Because the issue was dominating both social and mainstream media after the public accused the State that they were hiding witnesses to proceed with their fabricated agenda of implicating the accused persons that they were arrested while planning to assassinate President Museveni, poison top government officials and overthrow the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government.
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President Museveni promised the public that State has overwhelming evidence against Besigye. He wondered why he was playing the Sympathy card by refusing to eat food in the prison protesting government’s delay to transport his criminal file from the military court to the civilian court after the landmark Supreme Court judgement which declared the prosecution of civilians in a military court illegal.
The president summoned a high-level meeting at State House which was attended by all stakeholders involved in Besigye case including investigators and prosecutors.
Highly placed State House sources said that a furious Museveni asked Anguzu why he wanted to hide the witnesses yet they have shocking and touching evidence on Besigye’s clandestine move to kill him and overthrow his government.
He even cited a special budget he put in place to facilitate the said investigations.
Sources disclosed that Museveni insisted that he wanted Besigye’s trial to be open to public like the way Okello Onyum’s case was handled.
In response, Anguzu agreed to withdraw the said application to pave way for speedy trial as the President demanded and he disclosed to the defense lawyers the key witnesses who they wanted to hide and among them are top military intelligence officers like incarcerated Maj Gen James Birungi, Maj Gen Abel Kandiho among others.
Highly placed sources said that when Lukwago learnt about the development, he quickly moved to save his clients by filing a Human Rights Enforcement application against the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba in his personal capacity and Attorney General Dr Sam Mayanja to defend his office a move which angered the general and orders for his arrest were issued. Upon arrest, Lukwago was charged with misprision of treason and remanded to Luzira prison.
Medard Lubega Ssegona one of the lawyers representing Lukwago claims that while was in detention, his client was forced to reveal Besigye’s secrets concerning a plan to assassinate Museveni and overthrow his government. His phone was also confiscated when he was abducted from his Wakaliga home early this week.
Sources claim that the State is ready to use Lukwago and other individuals including former Internal Security Organisation (ISO) operative Charles Rwomushana, opposition politician Samuel Lubega Mukaku and Prossy Salaam Musumba
Musumba said that she is not scared of being arrested and taken to Court to testify in Besigye case noting that she will tell the Court whatever she knows about the allegations.
“All those are tricks to threaten us to run away from our country where we buried our ancestral grandparents. We are here to stay at all cost,” Musumba boasted.
This development comes at a time when activists are soliciting signatures online to write a petition which they are going to take to Justice Dr. Douglas Singiza’s Judicial Service Commission seeking the removal of Justice Emmanuel Baguma from presiding over Dr Besigye’s trial.
This is another attempt to force defiant Baguma from presiding over the said trial after Besigye himself and his co-accused applied for his recusal.
Besigye also petitioned Justice Singiza seeking for investigations against Baguma and cause his removal from the office of the judge of the High Court citing incompetence and misconduct. However, Justice Baguma has been quite on the said petition.
Even though he is facing a lot of resistance from Besigye, his co-accused and their families, Justice Baguma insisted on hearing and determining the criminal trial and set 30th June to hear his Human Rights Enforcement application filed against Gen Muhoozi and Attorney General.
