Justice Kavuma stops Kayihura prosecution
KAMPALA.
Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma on Friday issued an interim order stopping the ongoing criminal proceedings against the Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura before Makindye Chief Magistrates’ Court.
The interim order will now be in place until the main petition pending before the Constitutional Court in which a concerned city lawyer and former Makerere Guild president; Mr Robert Rutaro is challenging the constitutionality of Gen Kayihura’s prosecution before Makindye Court.
“An interim order is hereby issued staying all the criminal proceedings at Chief Magistrate Court at Makindye against the Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura until the hearing and final disposal of the main petition now pending before this court..” ruled justice Kavuma.
In the same session that was held in his chambers, Justice Kavuma also stopped the prosecution of half a dozen of other senior officers who were being prosecuted alongside their boss.
They include; Andrew Kaggwa (ex-Kampala South Regional commander), James Ruhweza (ex Head of Operations, Kampala Metropolitan), Samuel Bamuziibire, (ex Kampala Metropolitan Field Force Unit commander), Patrick Muhumuza, ( ex commander in operations, field force unit, Kampala Metropolitan South), Wesley Nganizi, (ex Regional police commander, Kampala North), Geoffrey Kaheebwa (ex Deputy Regional Police Commander, Kampala South) and Moses Nanoka (ex Wandegeya Division police commander).
Further in his orders, Justice Kavuma ordered the Registrar of the Court Deo Ninzeimana to quickly fix the main petition and have the main petition heard and disposed of expeditiously.
Prior to the issuing of the interim order by the deputy chief justice, counsel David Oundo Wandera, who represented the petitioner, argued that should Makindye Court convene on Monday next week and hear Gen Kayihura’s case, his client’s (Mr Rutaro) would be rendered useless.
The Director of Civil Litigation, Mr Denis Bireije who represented the Attorney General, did not oppose the grant of the interim order but on condition that the main petition is quickly fixed and expeditiously disposed of.
The Attorney General is listed as the respondent in this petition.
But in the build up to the issuing of the interim orders, Mr Wandera, successfully convinced a single judge, Justice Simon Byabakama to issue his client with a certificate of urgency to have this matter heard.
This was done since the court is still in vacation. The vacation ends on August 31. In the evening, Mr Wandera was getting the interim order to serve Makindye Chief Magistrates’ Court and the office of the DPP will be served on Monday morning when the matter was expected to resume.
In the main petition now pending before the constitutional court for determination, Mr Rutaro claims that by charging the named senior police officers with the offense of torture without specifying the alleged acts of torture contravenes the right to a fair hearing and is inconsistent with articles 28 (1), (3) (c), 44 c, 20 1 and 2 of the constitution.
Mr Rutaro also contends that the acts of Makindye Chief Magistrates Court in charging the aforementioned officers with torture arising from the execution of their duties contravenes articles 212, 213 and 2 (1) of the Constitution.
He also contends that the act of charging the named officers except Gen Kayihura before the Police Tribunal as well as the Makindye court with different charges based on the same facts amounts to double jeopardy and is unconstitutional.
The first time that the Gen Kayihura case was called before Makindye Court when it was being prosecuted by way of private prosecution before the DPP took over recently, several pro-Kayihura supporters carried placards and ran around court in a bid to frustrate the proceedings, saying the IGP is innocent.
The lawyers who instituted the private proceedings led by the law firms of Lukwago & Co Advocates and Namugali, Walyemera Co Advocates, were whisked away by police under tight watch after being besieged by a pro-Kayihura group.
