Bonita Nakalule
For months now, various entities have called for the release of political prisoners largely belonging to the NUP opposition political party.
During the 2021 presidential elections and after, a number of people where arrested and charged in the court martial but have since never had their cases heard.
The court martial that’ is governed under the updf act section 192 which states that anybody charged and spends 60 – 90 days without being convicted he/she is supposed to be released by the commanding officer.
It’s on this very ground that National Economic Empowerment Dialogue party president is petitioning the court martial in the night court to release or grant bail to the 32 NUP members that are illegally held and have never had their case heard.
“We are going to put in a production warrant for all political prisoners but especially the 32 NUP supporters (31 men, 1 woman) to be produced in court immediately”
“We expect that if there is any rule of law in Uganda, because that’s the law, they should be brought to court and then the case is heard.”
“If we are a lawless state, let that be known, you know sometimes we do these things so that we don’t fool ourselves that we are a country that has laws yet we are a law unto ourselves.”
That’s why we want to put the thing out there and say, if we have laws in this country then these are the laws which should apply.
“I have been in some of these detention places of theirs, it is not easy in there and I can’t tell you that I was given the worst treatment but the thing is, I saw things which happen in there and you can shudder, have you ever seen something and you feel pain by just looking at it.”
If there is anybody who is in that place who doesn’t deserve to be there, we want them out of that place.
The petition is set for hearing on 27th January 2023 and all the concerned parties like the Attorney General have already been served.
The former presidential candidate concluded by saying they are going to fight for the right of every body who is wrongly incarcerated and who has a right to be out, who has a right to be free and who has a right to be tried from outside because it’s not fun in there and you should not wish anybody to go in there.
Kabuleta was addressing the media at his party’s weekly media conference at the party’s offices in Bugolobi.
