Treason added to charges for tribal king Mumbere in Uganda

AFP photo

By

Gloria Nakiyimba

The Omusinga of the Rwenzururu Kingdom Charles Wesley Mumbere has been charged with treason. The tribal king of the Rwenzururu people in the Rwenzori Mountain region in western Uganda appeared at the magistrate court in the eastern town of Jinja on Wednesday.

The composed Omusinga was jointly charged alongside more than 150 of his Royal guards including 19 women and four juveniles.

The court’s chief magistrate read for them the 41 new charges including treason, murder, terrorism, aggravated robbery and attempted murder. The list is endless.

The Prosecution alleges that the Omusinga attempted to overthrow the current government of Uganda through an armed insurrection.

They committed the alleged offences between the months of March and November 2016 in the Rwenzori region and are accused of attacking police stations in the area, the illegal recruitment of people into armed activities, robbing arms and killing policemen.

Security was at its highest as Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere returned to court where he was slapped with fresh charges in connection with the recent Kasese clashes in which more than 80 people lost their lives in November.

The public and media were denied access to the court room during Wednesday’s session because it was filled with suspects. The Omusinga and his co-accused have been remanded back to various jails until the 28th December.

Charles Wesley Mumbere was arrested in November when the Uganda People’s Defense Forces –UPDF, and Uganda Police raided the royal palace in Kasese town on 27th of November this year. Fighting and violence ensued between the national forces and royal guards who were guarding the king, who was later accused of inciting violence in the region.

Suspects Tortured

Jinja court chief magistrate John Francis Kaggwa has ordered an investigation into allegations of torture of the jailed Rwenzururu Royal guards.

A group of lawyers representing the accused told court that many royal guards had been mistreated by police, with visible wounds inflicted on them from various detention centers and denied medication.

One of the lawyers Caleb Alaka claims many of the allegedly tortured royal guards have died in detention, a claim that could not readily be verified.

Gloria Nakiyimba

Gloria has experience spanning more than five years in Journalism, particularly in field reporting, editing, newscasting and management. She is currently working with Capital Radio Limited [91.3 Capital FM and 96.3 Beat FM] as Head of News, a position she has held since 2010.

Gloria previously worked as the Kampala Correspondent for Radio France International [RFI] generating local story leads with international inference for RFI’s global audience. She also served as Political Editor for The Weekly Mail Newspaper as well as Online Content Editor for the California based Ugandan broadcaster KubutakaRadio.com.