Following a case that started four years ago in which Dr. Kiiza Besigye along with other opposition politicians are charged with inciting violence, malicious damage to police cars and injuring policemen, the state has now come out to say that it has six more witnesses ready to testify against the defendants.
Dr. Besigye is charged along with Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Rukungiri Municipality MP Roland Kagina, FDC secretary for mobilization Ingrid Turinawe, Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa and DP Vice President for western region Imam Makumbi.
Kabale Senior Resident State attorney, Mr. Batson Baguma, made the submission yesterday when Dr.Besigye and his co-accused appeared before Kabale Chief Magistrates Court. However, defence lawyer Mr, Julius Galisonga protested the prosecution claim and questioned why the State was increasing the number of witnesses than they had declared earlier.
Chief magistrate, Mr Samuel Moses Kagoda however overruled Mr. Galisonga saying that as long as the affidavits of the additional witnesses are served in time, it would be in order to allow them to testify in the case which started in July 2012.
Kibale DPC, Mr. Bosco Arop, yesterday testified as the third State witness. “Dr Besigye was the cause of the fracas that resulted in malicious damage of police property and injuring some policemen shortly after the FDC rally at Kabale Stadium in 2012,” stated Mr. Arop.
“He incited his supporters to defy the police orders on agreed roads for their procession. The FDC party supporters started throwing stones that injured some police men and destroyed windscreens of three police cars,” he added.
Mr. Galisonga however requested the court to grant him a copy of Mr. Arop’s recorded statement as an exhibit because it contradicted what he had said in court four years ago. Mr. Arop was by then Kabale Police Commander before he became DPC for Kibale. Court accepted the lawyer’s request and marked the DPC’s statement as “defense exhibit one.”
The fourth State witness was Mr. Michael Sitenda also testified that Dr. Besigye incited the crowd who in turn hurled stones on the police car UP 1325 shuttering the right wind screen and injuring him on the chest and head.
The case was adjourned until September 26 when the State is expected to bring all the remaining witnesses.