The charges against the accused stem from Mumbere’s arrest on November 27th, 2016 following a raid by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces on his Rwenzururu Kingdom palace in Kasese District as they were allegedly hunting for terrorists who for many years were terrorizing the region.
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The lawyer representing Mumbere and his co accused Alfred Makasi together with the Rwenzururu Kingdom Premier Joseph Kule Muranga Kighoma at the High Court in Kampala.
The
International Crimes Division of the High Court has issued an order directing Uganda Prisons Services to produce before Jinja Main prison a group of jailed women jointly
charged with Rwenzuru King Charles Wesley Mumbere on terrorism
related charges.
The women
are:
Enid Biira ,
Regina Bira, Provia Kabughu, Jovia Musoki and Olivia Mubuga.
The group is
part of the 49 royal guards who are still on remand following their arrest in
2016 with more than 200 others on charges of murder, terrorism, treason,
malicious damage to property, attempted murder, and aggravated robbery.
The charges
against the accused stem from Mumbere’s arrest on November 27th, 2016 following
a raid by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces on his Rwenzururu Kingdom palace in
Kasese District as they were allegedly hunting for terrorists who for many years
were terrorizing the region.
But last
week, the lawyers who are representing the accused persons got disrupted by the
poor internet connections so hearing of their bail application couldn't
proceed on two occasions before Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha who was
sitting in Kampala.
The suspects were being connected via a zoom
link connecting to Luzira and Jinja Prisons, then those out on bail were
appearing online also via a connection at Bundibugyo, Kasese, and Fort Portal
courts.
As a result, the lawyers led by Evans Ochieng
asked Court to shift and go to Jinja High Court to hear the bail application from
there arguing that most of the applicants were detained that side.
Ochieng
added that even assessing the health condition of the applicants would be
better when the Judge sees them physically as opposed to seeing them online.
But the
Judge left it to the Registrar of the court to decide on whether to go to
Jinja or to continue with the case in Kampala.
Now in the
order issued by the Deputy Registrar of ICD Beatrice Atingu, the prisons are
directed to bring the applicants on November 22nd 2022 in the morning for hearing
of the case.
"You
are hereby directed to produce the above accused person before this Honourable
International Crimes Division of High Court sitting at Jinja prison on the 22nd
day of November 2022 at 9am ", reads the order to the Superintendent of
Prisons Jinja Main Prison Women Wing.
In 2018, Mumbere and his subjects were committed to the International Crimes Division of
the High Court in Kololo by Jinja High Court to face charges against them.
Although Mumbere was granted bail, his movements were restricted in Kampala,
Wakiso, and Mukono districts to date. The
rest of his subjects remain scattered in different prisons across the country,
some have since died while others were released in 2021.
The Kingdom officials together with the government
have been in negotiations to have the charges dropped and liberty of the King
and his subjects restored. But the results are yet to be seen.
