By Spy Uganda
Kampala: National Unity Platform (NUP) team that was arrested with Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi in Kalangala district last year on allegations of violating COVID-19 guidelines before being charged with possession of ammunition have today returned to General Court Martial for bail hearing that has seen only 13 out of 49 getting out of jail.
Others including top Kyagulanyi’s body guard Eddy Mutwe, closest friend Nubian Li and 34 others have been denied bail after army prosecutors led by Capt.Ambrose Guma revealed that they would be a security threat if released.
“The group was recently involved in violent protests and on arrest, they became violent towards police officers. They are therefore likely to incite protests if granted bail,”Guma said citing an affidavit by Detective Assistant Superintendent of Police, Peter Wetaka, one of the investigators in the group’s case.
On the allegations of being tortured after arrest, the state prosecutors dismissed the claims saying it is baseless before army prosecutors advised court to further jail the group.
However, the group’s lawyers led by Anthony Wameli dismissed the claims by the state as baseless, noting that there is no evidence to prove the same.
“It is evident that the person who swore the affidavit is a mere investigating officer who didn’t participate in the arrest or is in custody of the accused. He, therefore, can’t claim that they were violent,” Wameli said.
The lawyer also noted that the army prosecutors have failed to prove that the accused had been involved in violent protests in the past.
“Their allegations are very speculative yet court can’t work on speculations and assumptions,”Wameli said before asking court to grant bail to the accused.
The General Court Martial chairman, Lt Gen Andrew Gutti said he would deliver his ruling on bail on Monday, February 15, 2021.
It is worth noting that the huge team was arrested in Kalangala, transferred to Masaka, produced and charged in Masaka Magistrates Court presided over by Chief magistrate Charles Yeteise who released some of them on 200,000 cash bail while others were transferred to military prisons with fresh charges.
