MPs acquitted in murder case

2006-01-09 13:55

Kampala - A Ugandan court on Monday acquitted two opposition lawmakers of a nearly four-year-old murder of a ruling party supporter amid claims the case was intended to intimidate political foes of President Yoweri Museveni ahead of elections next month.

High Court Justice Judge John Bosco Katutsi said no charges had been proven against the MPs, Ronald Reagan Okumu and Michael Ocula, both of whom are supporters of opposition leader Kizza Besigye, Museveni's main rival in the February 23 polls who is also facing serious criminal counts.

"The prosecution has failed to prove its case and I find the accused persons not guilty and they are hereby acquitted," he said as he read the verdict, delivering a scathing indictment of the evidence and witnesses presented by prosecutors.

He said some of the prosecution witnesses had been "men of shoddy character ... who gave contradictory testimony" and he believed others had lied on the stand to give "purely made-up evidence to convict the accused persons".

"I disregard their testimony," Katutsi said, adding that the cause of the victim's death remained unclear despite the prosecution's argument that Okumu and Ocula were involved.

Political unease

Okumu and Ocula, both senior officials and members of parliament from Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, along with a third suspect who was also acquitted, were arrested in April in connection with the 2002 slaying of Alfred Bongomin, a local council chairman in northern Uganda.

According to the prosecution, the two lawmakers had allegedly attended a meeting that resulted in the murder of Bongomin who police said was tortured to death.

But the pair, who had been vocal in their criticism of Musevenim, and their party maintained the charges were spurious and politically motivated.

Okumu said outside the courthouse that they would sue for wrongful prosecution.

"We are going to sue the state for damages," he said, vowing that the FDC would continue its efforts to unseat Museveni from power.

The verdict came amid heightened donor unease over the state of democracy in Uganda, with Besigye facing prosecution on treason, terrorism, rape and weapons charges that many believe are politically motivated.

Katutsi, who is also trying Besigye, on Friday refused to suspend legal proceedings against him until after the election campaign but postponed for two weeks his trial on a treason charge.

The rape trial is due to resume on Wednesday.

- AFP