ARUA – Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake was on Friday acquitted of charges of escape from lawful custody.
In his ruling, the Arua Grade One Magistrate, Swaleh Asiku, said: Zaake has no case to answer since police left him at the hospital unguarded, meant that he was not a suspect.
Mr. Zaake was on February 22 charged with escaping from lawful custody and released on bail of Shs50 million, not cash.
Mr. Zaake and Kyaddondo East Member of Parliament, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobo Wine, were among the 33 suspects arrested in Arua on allegations of stoning President Museveni’s convoy on August 13, during the Arua Municipality by-election campaigns.
His lawyer Medard Segona contends that his client was kidnapped and was being illegally detained after torture and wants to appeal seeking compensation.
Bobi Wine lauded his colleague saying that “one freedom fighter was acquitted of trumped-up charges. Another was put on her defence.”
“I congratulate Hon. Francis Zaake Butebi and the legal team led by Hon. Medard Ssegona for securing an acquittal for Hon. Zaake. The learned magistrate in Arua found that it was very unfortunate that Hon. Zaake had been badly tortured and left for dead by soldiers, only for the same people to say that he escaped from their custody,” added the influential MP.
Bobi Wine said that on another front, court in Kampala ruled that Dr. Stella Nyanzi has a case to answer in a case of cyber harassment.
“She was sent back to Luzira prison where she has spent over 230 days! As Nelson Mandela told us,” he said.
“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain tops of our desires.” This is your furnace mama. But hold fort. History will absolve you. I call upon all of us to continue to stand with her and her legal team in this quest for justice. Ultimately, we shall overcome,” uttered Bobi Wine.
