|
'War criminal cannot testify'
04/05/2006 17:27 - (SA)
Kampala - Defence lawyers in the treason trial of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye have objected to testimony from a prosecution witness they say is a war criminal.
In the latest of a bizarre series of twists in the proceedings, Besigye's attorneys said on Thursday that the appearance of a notoriously brutal former commander in the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on the stand was a miscarriage of justice.
The defence compared ex-LRA lieutenant Onen Kamudulu to Osama bin Laden, and argued he would be "dancing on the graves" of thousands of innocent rebel victims if he was allowed to give testimony.
Lawyer David Mpanga said: "We cannot sit back and watch the state perpetuate what must be the grossest abuse of the process of law."
Mpanga accused the former rebel of committing an crimes against humanity while serving as an LRA commander.
Prosecutor startled by defence's objections
He laid out a litany of horrors allegedly carried out by Kamudulu, including the orchestration of mass slaughters and kidnappings of children, rape, and incitement to murder and torture - well-known charges against the LRA.
Comparing Kamudulu's testimony to that of LRA supremo Joseph Kony, or Osama bin Laden, Mpanga said: "All these offences are grave crimes against humanity and yet Kamudulu hasn't, until today, seen the inside of a court room.
"Kamudulu should not be allowed to dance on the graves of his victims by appearing as a witness."
Lead prosecutor Simon Byabakama appeared startled by the defence objections and asked the country's high court justice, Vincent Kagaba, for time to prepare a response.
Kagaba agreed and adjourned the trial until May 9.
Besigye and 22 co-defendants are accused of conspiring with the LRA and other rebel groups to topple Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's government after the opposition leader lost 2001 presidential elections.
They have denied the charges, claiming they are politically motivated and tarnished by the unreliability of the prosecution witnesses.
The witnesses have testified that Besigye sought an alliance with the LRA to oust Museveni.
The LRA has been waging a 20-year war in northern Uganda to oust Museveni.
Defence demands arrest of second witness
Besigye's trial opened last month. It has been interrupted by unusual developments, including defence accusations that the first witness was being coached by a radio transmitter - hidden in an immense turban.
The second witness, a former LRA foot soldier, offered such bloodcurdling accounts of his own actions as a rebel that the defence demanded his immediate arrest and a court official collapsed in grief.
The third prosecution witness, a self-proclaimed spy who allegedly infiltrated Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) at the government's behest, was undermined by the fourth witness - a senior intelligence official, who testified the man had never been employed by the state.
|
News
