The lawyer of 19 people accused of manufacturing, planting, and denoting Improvised Explosive Devices at Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) and IPS building has asked the High Court International Crimes Division to dismiss the terror charges against them.
The prosecution alleges that Yusuf Muwonge, 18 others, and others still at large between 2020 and 2021 were behind the Kampala twin bombings at Parliamentary Avenue and CPS as well as in other various parts of the country approximately two years ago. The case returned for a pretrial hearing before Justice Richard Wejuli Wabwire on Thursday.
However, the Prosecution led by State Attorney Joseph Kyomuhendo who was holding briefs for Assistant DPP Thomas Jatiko prayed for an adjournment. This was on the grounds that the Prosecution still needed more time to disclose to the defense lawyer the evidence they intended to rely on to pin the suspects and file an application for witness protection.
However, the Defense lawyer Anthony Asiimwe objected to the prayer saying that the prosecution has made it a habit of asking for adjournment ever since the matter came before the court, which infringes on the rights of the accused persons.
He has asked the court to dismiss the case against the accused until the prosecution is ready. Justice Wabwire instead adjourned the case to September 29th, 2023, and cautioned the prosecution to expedite the process of sharing the evidence with the defense and sent back the suspects on remand.
By Judith Kukunda