Government last evening withdrew its application that was intended to extend a court order that had banned all the defiance campaign activities of Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party and its former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye.
The application for the new interim orders had been scheduled for hearing yesterday at 3pm. However, the Attorney General (AG) who was the applicant in the matter, in a notice to the Constitutional Court, withdrew the application without giving any reasons.
The application had been scheduled to be heard by Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma. The same judge, sitting as a single justice of Constitutional Court, had issued interim orders banning defiance activities for four weeks effective April 29. They expired at the weekend.
The Constitutional Court had on Wednesday summoned FDC party officials and Dr Besigye to appear for the hearing of the new application for interim orders.
“We do hereby apply to withdraw the above captioned applications under Rule 2 (2) of the Court of Appeal Rules with no orders to costs…” read in part the Attorney General’s letter signed by Mr Denis Bireije, the acting director of civil litigation.
The withdrawal means FDC party members are at liberty to resume their defiance campaign activities such as holding their proclaimed weekly prayers, holding peaceful demonstrations and the media is no longer constrained to give a live coverage of the same activities.
In a related development, Dr Besigye, who is currently held at Luzira prison and had been listed as one of the respondents in this application, had written, informing court that he was unable to file his response before the application was later withdrawn.
Dr Besigye, who is facing treason charges for allegedly swearing-in himself as the president of Uganda, explained in a letter to court that since he is representing himself, he has to personally be present in court.
He added that in case he was not delivered to the court by the prison authorities, the hearing of the application shouldn’t proceed.
“Today June 1, 2016 at 13:30 hours, I was served with this application which requires me to file a response in time for the hearing at 15:00 hours tomorrow (yesterday). I am incarcerated at Luzira prison since May 18, 2016 and I was not permitted to attend court in another matter in Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court,” Dr Besigye said.
Dr Besigye speaks out
“It is logically difficult to respond within the time given. I am advised that the rules of this court require at least two days’ notice between the service and the hearing,” he added.
“I would like to be present so as to raise arguments against the application since I represent myself. In the event that I am not produced by the prisons authorities as it happened today (on Wednesday), I would like to be put on record and notify the judges hearing the application should not proceed in my absence as to do so, would be to violate my rights under article 28 (5) and 44 (c) of the Constitution.”
Shortly after the flop of the hearing of the new interim orders, human rights lawyer Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi, who had come to represent the FDC party in court, told journalists that the AG feared to continue with this application without the physical presence of Dr Besigye.
He explained that the law demands that the respondent be present in court and that the State could not secure his presence in court as it would attract more than one million city dwellers who are his supporters to come to court.
Leave a Reply