Last week on Thursday, May 14, 2020, High Court in Kampala presided over by Justice Esta Nambayo nullified Uganda Police orders of stopping singer Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine from staging concerts.
In her ruling, the Judge said that the orders, decision making and the decision itself taken by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martin Okoth Ochola of stopping events managers Andrew Mukasa of Bajjo Events and Abbey Musinguzi of Abitex Promotions from organising the Kyarenga extra concerts which were to be held at One Love Beach Busabaala, Lira, Gulu, and Arua “were illegal, ultra vires, irrational, unreasonable, and an abuse of the Police’s powers.”
Today, Nambayo has ordered Ochola to pay the cost of application, according to the Human Rights Enforcement Act, 2019 which makes it clear that Police officers who violate human rights in a range of ways like detaining them for more than 48 hours without taking them to court, torture, among others will be personally responsible for paying any fines and compensations awarded by Court, and not the force as a whole.
It should be remembered that on April 19, 2019, Police halted Bobi Wine from holding his concerts, and they were working on orders of the IGP.