How Govt lost Besigye riot case

How Govt lost Besigye riot case                              August 10th 2011
By Pascal Kwesiga THE Kasangati Magistrates’ Court in Wakiso district yesterday dismissed three counts against the FDC president Dr. Kizza Besigye. The court presided over by the principal Grade One Magistrate, George Watyekere, ruled that Besigye had no case to answer in relation to charges of rioting after proclamation, inciting violence and disobeying lawful orders. The ruling came after Besigye’s lawyers, David Mpanga and Ernest Kalibbala, filed an application requiring the court to establish whether Besigye had case to answer before he could defend himself. The magistrate said the state had failed to establish a prima facie (at first sight) case against Besigye on all the charges that were pressed against him during the walk-to-work demonstrations. He added that no reasonable tribunal would convict Besigye using the unsatisfactory evidence adduced by the state. On one count, Besigye was accused of disregarding an order from the former officer in charge of Kasangati Police Station, David Collins Mukite. Mukite reportedly told Besigye to leave the road when the FDC leader was found walking along with other people. Instead, Besigye reportedly sat down at Rutete Trading Centre on Gayaza-Kampala road. The incident allegedly occurred on April 11. Watyekere said the state remained with only two witnesses – Mukite and a traffic officer, Patrick Mawa. This was after the head of criminal investigations for Kampala Metropolitan East, Banard Kirya, was dropped when he said he did not see Besigye committing the crime. The magistratee said Mukite and Mawa failed to answer simple questions from Besigye’s defence lawyers under cross-examinations. This, the magistrate said, rendered the pair incredible and unfaithful witnesses. Watyekere said the two contradicted themselves when Mukite said he saw Besigye walking in the middle of the road, while Mawa said he spotted Besigye walking from his residence on Nangabo Road. The magistrate said court found it strange that Mukite was called by the district internal security officer whom he failed to mention in court. Watyekere wondered why it was the district security officer, who called to inform Mukite that Besigye was walking, instead of Mawa who had been deployed to control traffic on the same road. Watyekere also said court failed to establish if the order that was reportedly issued to Besigye was lawful since Mukite and Mawa told court on several occasions that the opposition leader was requested, persuaded and advised to leave the road. Watyekere noted that the reason why Mukite didn’t arrest Besigye, after he allegedly disobeyed his order, was because Mukite’s directive was not lawful. On the count of rioting after proclamation, the magistrate said the three witnesses – the Kampala metropolitan CID commander, Paul Kato, Kira Division Police Commander James Ruhweza and a Police constable, exonerated Besigye. He said the witnesses said they did not see Besigye throwing stones at the Police. The trio reportedly added that they never saw Besigye communicating with the rioters while he was sitting on a roadside trench near Kasangati Health Centre on April 14. On the count of inciting violence, Watyekere said the state failed to adduce direct evidence to prove that Besgiye incited the people to riot when he sat in a roadside trench. Addressing the press after the ruling, Besigye threatened to resume the walk-to-work demonstration.