Uganda’s new opposition icon Bobi Wine granted bail

The Gulu High Court granted bail to 12 co-accused colleagues with the pop-star known for his stage name as Bobi Wine.

Others include Arua Municipality MP-elect Kassiano Wadri , Jinja East MP Paul Mwiru, Ntungamo Municipality MP Gerald Karuhanga and some political activists.
Mr Wadri is, however, not allowed to go to Arua Municipality in the next three months, unless the court clears him of the charges.

The court, presided over by Justice Stephen Mubiru, denied bail to other 20 suspects facing treason charges.

Bailed suspects were ordered to regularly report to the Magistrate Court.

Chimpreports reports that the Court released the suspects on a Shs 5 Million non-cash bond each, while each of their sureties were placed on a Shs 10Million bond.

However, Justice Mubiru, declined a prosecution request for court to withhold passports of the bailed, stating that some of these might need their passports to travel for medication, and that having to pick them in Gulu would be a big inconvenience.

Mass arrests followed violent protests in Arua in which protesters allegedly smashed President Yoweli Museveni’s motorcade as they took on streets to boycott the ruling NRM campaign for the parliamentary by-election which took place a fortnight ago.

At the time, Museveni was in Arua campaigning for NRM candidate Nusura Tiperu while Bobi Wine campaigned for independent but opposition-leaning candidate, Kassiano Wadri.

Wadri won over NRM’s Tiperu but the winner was in detention during the elections.

In their bail application, the suspects presented a number of sureties, mostly fellow MPs. They cited, among others, their medical conditions as reasons they needed bail.
Frail Bobi Wine and some co-accused appeared in court leaning on crutches. One of them collapsed on the cameras and the video has gone viral on social media.

It is alleged that they were tortured in detention in the first days following their arrest in Arua, August 13.

The suspects are expected to appear before the Gulu Chief Magistrates Court on August 30. They are also ordered to appear at any time the court desires.

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