Army court orders transfer of MP Kipoi from Makindye to Luzira for detention

The General Court Martial in Makindye has ordered for the transfer of embattled former Bubulo West Member of Parliament Tonny Nsubuga Kipoi from Makindye military prison to Luzira.

The same court in March ordered for Kipoi’s transfer from Luzira to Makindye over what was termed as security reasons following a request by the army’s prosecution team.

“We have received intelligence information that his stay in Luzira is not secure and for his own security, we pray  that he is transferred from Luzira to Makindye until the case comes up for hearing, Maj.Mugisha asked court.

Later the court adhered to the request.

Last month, Kipoi filed a habeas corpus application against the Attorney General, DPP, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the commanding officer, Makindye Military barracks in the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala on Friday for being detained in a military facility.

A habeas corpus, is an application requiring a person under arrest to be produced before a judge or into court to secure their  release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

However, in a ruling by the army court, Kipoi ought to be transferred to a civil prison as he has other charges before the civil courts.

“We have been reliably informed that Kipoi has a civil suit pending before the magistrates court in Nakawa and on various occasions, the military police administration has lacked logistics to transport him to Nakawa to attend his case,” said the court chairman, Lt. Gen. Andrew Guti in a ruling dated June 8 .

“We accordingly hereby transfer Kipoi from military police quarter guard to Luzira government prison.”

The former Bubulo West legislator was in 2012 arrested and charged with treason for allegedly recruiting youths from both Uganda and DRC as rebels in a bid to depose the Ugandan government.

He would later be released on bail but jumped it and later fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo where he has been hiding until February when he was arrested in Botswana.

In 2014, the General Court Martial in Makindye issued an arrest warrant over Kipoi after the treason charges in the civil court had been transferred to the army court.

In the same year, parliament threw him of the August house for missing 15 sittings without justifying his absence.

The former legislator was recently  charged together  with other  UPDF soldiers including Sgt.Yunus Lemeriga,Cpl Rogers Mweru, Sgt Adams Mawa, Sgt Albino Okeng and Pte Dodola Ijosiga with  offences related to security, contrary to section 130(i) of the UPDF Act 2005.

 

The army prosecution alleges the group and others still at large between November 2012 and December 2013 convened meetings in areas of Kampala, Wakiso, Masaka, Jinja, Nakasongola and Ntoroko with an intent to overthrow government.