In the second week of June, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni addressed the Deputy Chief Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija and other magistrates, praising the Chief Justice’s “aggressive spirit” in the fight against corruption. H. E. The President used a series of examples from 20th century history to lay out the difference between what he called the African justice system and the colonial justice system. The former realised full accountability by incorporating retributive and restorative justice. Murder of a clan-member, for example, required avenging in like manner or agreeing on a settlement. Known as mato oput (in Northern Uganda) or okukaraba in Runyankore, this entailed drinking medicine under the authority of traditional priests, slaughtering an animal as fine, in order to cleanse oneself after someone’s death. A lesser offence such as insulting someone could be settled by a fine. By contrast, the colonial system allowed the injured party to fall short of substantive justice, spending more time on procedure and working via faulty assumptions. One such assumption lay at the core of the president’s discourse: the torture of a suspect can be invoked to annul the whole case against that suspect. Museveni reasoned that, although there are issues with torture, this should not result in a dismissal of the case against the suspect: the original complaint still has to receive full justice. The use of torture can then be treated as a second, separate case. He thanked the Chief Justice for recently coming closer to his own position on this matter.
President Museveni reiterated this idea during an address on “matters of national importance” on the 4th of July. The speech, which Museveni stated had to be hastened because of a World Cup Football match, mainly revolved around recent high-profile cases of abduction. Chief of Defence Forces, Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, had posted an image of a distraught and bald-shaven Elias Lukwago in the notorious basement on his X account on Monday June 15th. Former Kampala Lord Mayor, lawyer to Dr. Kizza Besigye, and president of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), Hon. Dr. Lukwago was abducted from his Kampala home by Special Forces Command (SFC) troops and brought in front of the magistrate’s court on charges of treason. Not long after, Hon. Dr. Miria Matembe – who had been threatened by the CDF on X – went missing from her home after a visit by special forces. She was brought to Luzira court several days later, facing charges of inciting tribalism for comments made about ministers’ corruption during an interview published June 20th. During his July 4th presidential address, Museveni made light of Matembe’s health condition in front of the court, and he also reflected scornfully on Besigye. The long-term opposition leader has been awaiting trial with associate Obedi Lutale since November 2024. They are charged with treason among other things. All this – and more, such as the closing of the Nation Media Group workings under Muhoozi’s watch – is part of the reality of kisanja: “no more sleep”, the motto of the president’s new term in office.
The preliminary hearings for the Besigye trial have been an intentionally confusing and exhausting series of twists and turns lacking clear orientation. These preparations now seem to be coming to end, following the forceful removal of the defendants’ lawyers – Lukwago as outlined above, and Hon. Dr. Martha Karua being barred from entering the country from her native Kenya on June 22nd. On Monday July 12th, Dr. Besigye, addressing the court without any defence lawyers present, referred to the president’s recent musings on native and colonial justice systems. Standing before the judge, Besigye wondered which justice system he found himself in, remarking that the Constitution of Uganda forms the basis of the country’s justice system, and was created by Ugandans from all stripes. The court is now advancing to appoint state defence lawyers to represent Besigye and Lutale, a move which the accused are rejecting. They point out that the Constitution’s Articles 28 and 281 give the right of access to a fair and speedy trial, and Article 283D gives the charged persons permission to choose their own lawyer at their own expenses. Besigye has declared they will not show up to court if they are represented by state-appointed defence lawyers. The trial is set to commence on Wednesday, July 15th: a case of retributive and restorative justice?
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