KAMPALA- The Incitement to violence case against the opposition leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye and activist Samuel Lubega Mukaku has hit a snag after the prosecution abandoned their already presented evidence and prosecutor and introduced a fresh witness and a new state attorney, which the defense is objecting to.
According to the accused’s lawyer Erias Lukwago, the state has started playing games in a move to deny his clients their constitutional rights to a fair hearing and speedy trial since the new senior state attorney Allan Mucunguzi wants to start the case afresh and abandon the already presented evidence claiming that the state’s earlier presented case led by his colleague Ivan Kyazze was weak.
In today’s proceedings before Buganda Road Court Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya, Lukwago objected to these new developments wandering why the Director of Public Prosecutions could abruptly substitute a state attorney handling the case and introduce a new one if they believed that they had a solid case with viable evidence.
Lukwago is further contesting against evidence by Detective Sergeant Oryema Steven, a crime scene officer who claims to have inspected the vehicle occupied by Besigye and Mukaku at the time of their arrest.
“They have now come up with a new report and introduced the pictures of my clients in that report purportedly showing them committing the said offense,” Lukwago stated.
Lukwago says that the state is just planning to introduce forged and fabricated evidence against his innocent clients since the state has no case or evidence to prove their false claims.
He adds that the said fresh fabricated evidence by the state is unconstitutional per Article 28 of the Constitution, which calls for the state to avail all their intended evidence to the defense in a criminal matter before trial.
Lukwago is mainly contesting the alleged report by the investigating officer Oryema in which the police officer testified that he made his report on the 15th of June 2022, when the accused allegedly committed the said offense, yet the tendered the report indicates that he made it on October 31st 2022.
The Court has set the 15th of November 2024 to give her ruling on the said matter.
