Lawyers representing Butambala County Member of Parliament and National Unity Platform (NUP) Buganda Deputy President Muwanga Kivumbi have asked court to address what they described as serious violations of their client’s fundamental human rights in the ongoing terrorism case against him.
Addressing the Butambala Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, Busiro East MP and senior lawyer Medard Ssegona, appearing for Kivumbi’s legal team, told court that his client has never recorded a statement in relation to the terrorism charges he faces.
Ssegona further submitted that at the time of Kivumbi’s arrest, authorities failed to inform him of the specific offence he was being accused of. According to the defence, Kivumbi only became aware of the charges when he was later produced before court.
The defence also raised concerns about how investigations were conducted. Ssegona told court that when Kivumbi attempted to explain that 10 people were killed at his home during the election period, a police officer from Kira who was questioning him reportedly dismissed the claim.
He said the defence was surprised that officers allegedly unfamiliar with the area ignored information provided to them while insisting on pursuing their own version of events.
The prosecution maintains that the alleged election-related violence resulted in the deaths of seven people, a figure the defence strongly disputes.
Ssegona argued that cases of such gravity require transparent, impartial, and professional investigations. He submitted that if investigations were carried out in the manner alleged by the defence, then all evidence obtained should be rendered invalid.
The lawyers also told court that transferring Kivumbi to court without notifying his lawyers or even his wife was unconstitutional and amounted to a violation of his rights.
They asked court to dismiss the prosecution’s application. In the alternative, they urged the magistrate to order that all evidence obtained so far be discarded and that fresh investigations be conducted by impartial officers.
The defence further asked court to direct that investigations extend to the killings that allegedly occurred at Kivumbi’s home, insisting that clarity must be established on the disputed number of fatalities.