Ugandan critic ‘tortured’ before military hearing
The most outspoken critic of Uganda’s autocratic leader appeared to have been beaten before he was brought in front of a military court yesterday and charged with illegal possession of weapons linked to an attack on the president’s motorcade.
The detention of Robert Kyagulanyi, who gave up a pop singing career for politics last year, prompted spontaneous protests in the capital, Kampala, where he is an independent MP.
The musician, who is regarded as the biggest challenge in recent history to President Yoweri Museveni’s 32-year grip on power, showed signs of having been beaten when he appeared before a special court sitting in the northern city of Gulu. His wife, Barbara, and other relatives were barred from the hearing.
Barbara Kyagulanyi, 35, told The Times: ‘‘I am told by his lawyer that he is very injured and apparently can’t walk or sit comfortably. He was just staring ahead and not easily able to follow what is going. I have been strong but I broke down when I heard that.
‘‘We understand he has been tortured, but these charges are invented. Bobi doesn’t know how to handle a gun. We don’t own any.’’
Kyagulanyi, 36, known to his music fans as Bobi Wine, was charged over his alleged role in clashes in which the president’s motorcade was set upon by protesters throwing stones.
Police said that they seized guns, ammunition and mobile phones from his hotel room at the time of his arrest.
His lawyer and family claimed they were planted, a version echoed by the hotel manager. In hotly contested by-elections this year the musician backed candidates who emerged victorious, signalling his rising popularity and influence in the political opposition. Many followers are urging him to run in the next presidential election in 2021.
Violence flared earlier in the week when both the 73-year-old president and Kyagulanyi were in Arua, 354km from Kampala, before an election that was won by the opposition candidate, Kassiano Wadri. He was also arrested in the subsequent crackdown. The singer’s driver was shot dead by security forces in the chaos, a bullet that Kyagulanyi said was intended for him.
Museveni took power by force in 1986 and has won five elections. Last year he removed an age cap in the constitution which would have ruled him out from seeking another term.
George Kanyeihamba, one of Uganda’s retired supreme court judges, said that the military court had no jurisdiction over Kyagulanyi’s case and was being used by the regime ‘‘to get the verdicts they desire’’. ‘‘They should be appearing before the civilian courts in accordance with the constitution of Uganda,’’ he said.
Kyagulanyi was remanded in custody until his next appearance on August 23.– The Times