By Sania Babirye
Eight Suspects in the murder of the former spokesperson of the Uganda Police AIG Andrew Felix Kaweesi and their relatives have today protested their continued detention without trial after one of them collapsed at the international crimes division of the High court in Kampala due to hunger.
Suspect Nyanzi Yusuf has collapsed in court after being kept in the court cells since morning without any food or water yet he suffers from severe stomach ulcers and cannot goo without food for a long time.
The aggrieved suspects claim that they are illegally being detained in Luzira Government prison since May 2017 yet they have never been tried in court.
These had appeared before High court judge Lydia Mugambe for their bail application hearing, however the judge was forced to adjourn the matter to this Friday the 1st of March after state led by Marion Ben Bella asked for more time to organize relative documents in her case.
Matters went out of hand when justice Mugambe asked for the case to be heard in her chambers instead of open court which did not go well with both the suspects and their relatives.
The suspects and relatives thought that the case was again going to be adjourned for the third time and as a result started speaking on top of their voices saying they want court to at least execute them because they were fed up of being humiliated and subjected to embarrassment ever since they were arrested, charged, and committed to the crimes court for trial by the Nakawa Chief Magistrate Court in May 2017.
Justice Mugambe later come back to court and inquired why the suspect fainted and discovered that it was due to severe ulcers.
Justice Mugambe has now ordered Luzira Prisons Authorities never to bring hungry prisoners to her Court who are too weak to stand because beinh in prison does not mean deprivation of good.
The suspects claim that their relatives keep on trekking to court wasting money and leaving their work yet court keeps on refusing to grant them bail or formally try them for the past six months.
Some of their relatives have asked court to at least hand their relatives any sentence so that they can rest their worry over their pending trial.
The suspects are represented by Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi and Wameri Anthony.
Prosecution states that the susepcts on the morning of 17th/March 2017 at Kulambiro within Kampala district shot dead AIGP Felix Kaweesi, his body guard Kenneth Erau and his driver Godfrey Wambewa as the trio drove in the official Uganda Police vehicle to work.