Trial of Omusinga, 159 royal guards set for this month
The trial of Rwenzururu King (Omusinga) Charles Wesley Mumbere and his 159 royal guards is set for later this month, the judiciary has said.
According to the judiciary spokesperson, Solomon Muyita, the Head of the International Crimes Division of the High Court, Justice Moses Mukiibi, has allocated the case to four judges.
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Hearing of the case at the Kololo based court will start with a pre-trial session that will be handled by Justice Michael Elubu and this will be held in the last week of May at the Law Development Centre Auditorium.
A pretrial hearing is one that occurs before a trial and is attended by the plaintiff, the defendant, the judge, the lawyers, and sometimes other parties and is meant to resolve some of the legal issues before the trial begins.
The main trial will of the case will be handled by three justices including Duncan Gaswaga, Eva Luswata and Susan Okalany.
Case
Mumbere was arrested together with royal guards in November 2016 after a joint operation by the army and police led to storming of his Buhikira Palace in Kasese Town in which 136 people were killed.
Mumbere was later airlifted and detained at Nalufenya police station in Jinja district but was granted bail by the High Court in Jinja
The Omusinga and his royal guards face several charges of treason, terrorism, murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery and malicious damage to property.
Mumbere has since been stopped from stepping foot in Kasese unless granted permission by court.
