Former Forum for Democratic Change president, Rt. Col Dr. Kizza Besigye, has been remanded to Luzira prison on charges related to security and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
Besigye is charged alongside Hajji Obed Lutale, with whom he was arrested on November 16, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya, and subsequently brought back to Uganda.
On November 20, 2024, at approximately 1 PM, the two were driven to the Court Martial in Kampala under heavy security, where their party colleagues were waiting.
The duo was arraigned before a seven-member court chaired by Brig. Gen. Robert Freeman Mugabe, who ruled that the pair was properly charged before the Court Martial by virtue of Section 117.
Besigye, a resident of Nangabo sub-county in Kasangati, and Hajji Lutale, a resident of Mutundwe, challenged their trial before the military court, arguing that they are not serving army officers.
The Army prosecutors, led by Raphael Mugisha, stated that between October 2023 and November 2024, in the cities of Athens, Greece, Geneva, Switzerland, and Nairobi, Kenya, Besigye and Hajji Obed Lutale held meetings to fundraise and mobilize resources against the security of Uganda.
The two also face three other counts of unlawful possession of two pistols and eight rounds of ammunition, allegedly found on them upon arrest at Riverside Apartments in Kenya on November 16, 2024.
According to the prosecution, the firearms and ammunition are a monopoly of the armed forces.
Besigye and Lutale have both denied the four counts, with their lawyer, Elias Lukwago, arguing that the charges are defective as the Court Martial’s jurisdiction does not extend to the military laws of Kenya.
The two were remanded to Luzira prison until December 2, 2024, for the mention of the case and a ruling.
Daily Monitor reported that the former FDC president was reported missing in Nairobi where he had travelled to attend a book launch of former Kenya’s Justice Minister, Martha Karua.
