Keeping Besigye in jail for 8 months is too much, says Otafiire

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Internal affairs minister Maj. Gen (rtd) Kahinda Otafiire has condemned the continued detention of the four-time presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, saying keeping him in detention for over 8 months is too much.

Otafire expressed his mind on Besigye’s detention during the inaugural Sam Kalega Njuba lecture at Uganda Law Society (ULS) offices in Kololo on Thursday.  

Njuba, a former ULS president, died in December 2013.

“Honesty, keeping the man in detention for eight months is too much. What has he done? For us in the public court, he is innocent. The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is under the Attorney General, and he should tell us,” Otafire said.

According to the minister, no citizen should be incarcerated without a fair trial.

“You may hate me, but that is me,” Otafire said.

Invited to speak, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka said he will engage with Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, one of Besigye's lawyers, in regard to the case.

“I am going to have a conversation with Lukwago on the Besigye case,” Kiryowa pledged.

Lukwago, who was among the guests, did not immediately respond.

Reportedly arrested from a Kenyan hotel in November last year, Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale are battling charges of treason and misprision of treason.

They are battling the charges together with Capt. Denis Oola. They have since been committed to the High Court for trial. His office maintains that he was in  Nairobi to attend a book launch hosted by Kenyan politician Martha Karua.

In recent attempts, two of their bail applications by both men have been dismissed by the court. The hearing of the case has not commenced because Besigye and Lutale do not want Justice Emmanuel Baguma to preside over the case, accusing him of bias.

Honouring Njuba:

On Thursday, Kiryowa thanked ULS for organising the lecture and starting the trust and endowment fund for people like the Njuba family, promising to support it.

In his message read by Kiryowa, President Yoweri Museveni hailed Njuba for his contribution to the liberation of the country.

“We appreciate him and thank God for his legacy and service to the nation,” Museveni said.

Museveni said the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is a pan African non-sectarian organisation, calling upon members of the legal fraternity to join hands with it towards economic transformation.

“NRM has put up a spirited fight towards economic transformation, and it will not relent. We also advocate for East African Integration. We all have a role to play,” Museveni said.

At the events, Kiryowa responded to several issues raised by members. 

In his defence of not taking part in ULS affairs, Kiryowa said he keeps a distance so that he does not disturb the agenda of the radical new bar, although he said radicalism needs to be balanced with progress.

On the issue of reported increased disappearances of opposition supporters, Kiryowa said nobody wants to see it and that they are giving priority to such cases.

Otafiire's advice to ULS

Commenting on the ULS slogan of the new radical bar, Otafiire said it is an indictment of the government's performance, calling upon Kiryowa to listen to what the members of the legal fraternity are saying.

“When the governed are wrong, it is the duty of those in government to patiently explain to them. Don’t suppress them, but feel their pain. Those in authority should exercise authority judiciously,” OtafiIre said.

Otafiire said some of the things currently happening in the country are unacceptable.

“When people of my size and height disappear without a trace, it is a problem. This is unacceptable. This is the reason why we went to the bush,” Otafire said.

Using an analogy of when the late Lt. Gen. Pecos Kutesa found them putting up their hands in Parliament and also joined them even without knowing why they were raising their hands, Otafiire urged Kiryowa to listen to the lawyers with an open mind, warning that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

“The greatest generals are those who win the war without shooting a single bullet,” Otafiire said.

Otafiire, however, also warned ULS against fighting the government, urging them to instead advise them whenever they go wrong.

“Tells us where we are going wrong, and we understand each other. Don’t be like the National Unity Platform (NUP) that is saying it cannot be part of IPOD. How shall we know their issues?” Otafiire said.

Lukwago said Njuba stood firm, defended his colleagues and never recoiled from duty, urging Kiryowa to copy a leaf from him.

Gertrude Njuba thanked ULS for remembering her husband, calling upon members of the legal fraternity to emulate him.

“We are talking about democracy, but what did our parents do before it came? Is it democracy when we hate each other? We need to sit together. I therefore urge you to emulate the Njuba family,” she said.

Speaking remotely, ULS president Isaac Ssemakadde said they chose to honour Njuba because he embodied courage and radicalism in whatever he did.

ULS vice president Anthony Asiimwe expressed gratitude to President Museveni for respecting their invitation.  

Asiimwe said Njuba, also a former ULS president, was a symbol of courage, patriotism and unwavering commitment to democracy and the rule of law.