Veteran politician, Dr.Kizza Besigye has filed a bail application before the High Court in Kampala.
In his application, Besigye, who was arrested last year from Kenya, together with aide, Hajji Obeid Lutale and charged last week with treason alongside Captain Dennis Oola, a UPDF soldier says he has a permanent place of abode.
“The first applicant (Besigye) and the second applicant (Kamulegeya ) are responsible citizens of Uganda who have permanent places of abode at Buyinja LC1 Wampeewo Ward Kasangati Town Council Wakiso District and Rwakabengo A, Rwakabengo Ward Southern Division Rukungiri Municipality in Rukungiri District for the 1st Applicant and Kisigula Village Cell Mutundwe Ward Gombolola Ssabagabo Makindye Wakiso District for the 2nd Applicant, “ the bail application of the two says in part.
Responsible citizen
To prove that he is a responsible citizen, Besigye has accompanied his bail application with affidavit in which he says he stood for presidency in the 2001, 2006,2011 and 2016 General Elections.
“ I am also a retired Colonel in the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces and participated in the 1981-1986 Bush War as a member of the National Resistance Army. I am also a former Minister of State for internal Affairs, former National Political Commissar, former Commandant Masaka Mechanized Regiment and a delegate in the Constituent Assembly that debated the draft Constitution of Uganda which was eventually promulgated in September 1995.”
He says in the past he has been a member and president of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change and currently a member of the Peoples Front for Freedom.
“l am a responsible citizen of Uganda, who has always advocated for and pursued peaceful and wholly non-violent means to ensure that Uganda is governed in accordance with the law and the Constitutional dictates. As a citizen of Uganda, I am entitled to enjoy all rights accorded to citizens as well as participate in all lawful activities as an individual, and as a leader, including within the political formation to which I belong and to whose ideology I subscribe.”
He adds that the offences with which he is charged are bailable by the High Court , adding that like any other citizen, he enjoys a constitutional presumption of innocence and therefore not being a convict, it is in the interests of justice that I be admitted to bail.
The charges
Besigye and his co-accused are charged with treason in accordance with Section 23(1)(c) of the Penal Code Act, Cap 128.
“The trio and other still at large between the year 2023 and November 2024 at various places/countries including Geneva (Switzerland), Athens (Greece), Nairobi (Kenya), and Kampala (Uganda) contrived a plot, act or matter by force of arms to overturn the government of Uganda as by law established and expressed or declared such plot, act or matter by utterances and overt acts,” prosecution told court.
The trio has also been charged with misprision of treason under Section 25 of the Penal Code Act.
According to prosecution, while knowing about an intended act of treason, they failed to report it to authorities such as a minister, magistrate, or police officer.
