The National Unity Platform presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine's head of private security detail, Edward Ssebuwufu alias Eddie Mutwe has been remanded further until January 19.
Mutwe alongside three other NUP campaign coordinators; Stanley Kafuko, Lukeman Kampala and Hassan Katumba were on Monday remanded further for allegedly assaulting police officers.
The quartet was remanded by Masaka chief magistrate, Charles Yeitesi who read to the suspects six charges of assaulting police officers and damaging a police patrol vehicles.
According to the statement of offense presented before court, the four suspects and others still at large on December 26 last year, while on NUP campaign trail at Kifuuta village located in Kyotera district, assaulted five police officers who were executing their duties.
They are accused of assaulting assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Godfrey Musiime, probation police constable Barbara Entang and corporals Mike Kingalu, Jonathan Okalebo and Jude Bweri.
Court also heard that the suspects are also accused of hitting and damaging police patrol vehicle, registration number UP 2573, which had been used to transport the officers for deployment.
The magistrate, Yeitesi declined to hear the bail application before remanding the accused persons to Masaka Main Prisons up to January 19. Yeitesi ruled that court was out of time to listen and determine the bail application of the suspects, indicating that charges were mentioned after 7 pm in the evening, hence being too late for the trial to proceed.
Meanwhile, the four suspects had earlier appeared before the same court on different charges of causing incitement to violence and engaging in acts likely to lead to spreading of Covid-19; offences they had been bailed for.
The four were among the 126 NUP supporters and campaign coordinators who have been in police dentation since Wednesday last week when they were arrested in Kalangala district where the NUP presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi had gone to campaign.
Jacob Nahurira, as assistant state attorney attached to Masaka told court that suspects committed the offices at Kibaale village, Kagulube parish, Kalangala district, as they mobilized the people for a public rally contrary to the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the ministry of Health.
91 of the suspects who were represented by Magellan Kazibwe successfully applied for bail, which was granted at a cash fee of Shs 100,000 each and their sureties bonded at Shs 5 million noncash. The quartet was among those who had been bailed on the Kalangala case.
Kazibwe bemoaned to court the poor state of health state in which many of the suspects appeared for trial indicating there were clear indicators that they were tortured while in police custody and had visible injuries inflicted onto them. He says that they are going to document evidence of torture against the suspect, to support the prosecution of the culpable security officers.
"It is a disgrace to see that the suspects who have been brought to court were tortured, they were visibly limping. They have shown court the wounds, the evidence of torture. We have raised that matter and the magistrate has been to see the real signs of torture. For us as lawyers we condemn, this is unprofessional for police and anybody in charge of police custody to treat the suspects in the manner they were treated. There is no order that had been made by court that they should be subjected to any kind of corporal punishment. So what was done is condemned and is unacceptable," said Kazibwe.
Kazibwe also noted that they will not wait for the remaining period imposed by court, indicating that they are considering applying to a higher court for production warrant to have the charges labelled against their clients heard in the shortest time possible to allow them to participate in forthcoming elections slated for next week on January 14.
"The date of [Jnauary] 19th should not worry anybody, we can apply even tomorrow, even after 2 days once we get substantial sureties. Secondly, for those that have been remanded because the time for court was up, we can still seek the indulgence of court and apply to produce them at the appropriate time when court can reconvene and reconsider their bail application," said Kazibwe.
The suspects appeared before court amid very tight security mounted by both police and the army that also had to divert traffic away for the road near court premises.
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