Justice Emmanuel Baguma of the High Court in Kampala was on Wednesday morning forced to prematurely adjourn the treason trial of opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye after the two state prosecutors delayed showing up for the day’s business.
The further hearing of the case had been scheduled to resume at 11 am.
However, when Justice Baguma entered the court, ten minutes past 11 am, the two state prosecutors, Assistant DPP Thomas Jatiko and Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka, were nowhere to be seen.
The defense lawyers, led by Farouk Kizito Kamulegeya, informed the judge that their two colleagues were in another court handling another matter, the reason why they were not available.
‘The last time we were here, we agreed to be in court at 11:00; it’s now 11:14. We have no communication from the prison authorities as to why the accused persons are not here. However, we have received information from security personnel that Mr Jatiko and Birivumbuka are handling another matter around the court premises. I pray that the matter is stood over for 30 minutes,’ Mr Kamulegeya told the court.
An irritated judge instead gave a long adjournment until October 5.
‘Both the defence and prosecution moved the court by consent to have this matter adjourned to September 23. Birivumbuka did not disclose to this court that they have a hearing in another court. This is not a court of games. Am giving it a last adjournment. Case adjourned to 5 October,’ Justice Baguma observed as he walked out of the courtroom.
The day’s business was, among others, to have the judge deliver his ruling on the admissibility of the flash disk that the second prosecution witness, Mr Medadi Ssentanda, a senior lecturer in the Department of African Languages at Makerere University based on to testify as being the storage device for the secretly recorded videos and audios in the alleged plan by Dr Besigye to overthrow the current establishment.
Core to his testimony last week was that the government paid close to Shs60m to Makerere University’s Centre for Languages and Communication to transcribe the Besigye audios and videos.
The State alleges that Dr Besigye, Mr Lutale and UPDF Captain Denis Oola participated in meetings in Uganda and abroad, including in Geneva, Switzerland, Athens, Greece, and Nairobi, Kenya, as part of a plan to overthrow the government.
The accused have denied the allegations.
Dr Besigye has not been part of the ongoing hearing after he collapsed in court while he protested the choice of lawyers that had been accorded to him.