🔴 Former Mayor Erias Lukwago dumped at Kira Police

  Lawyer Erias Lukwago making submissions on behalf of Besigye and Lutaale. Lukwago, who is also the President of the PFF party, was on Monday abducted by security forces   Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | Former Lord Mayor of Kampala Erias Lukwago, who was abducted by security forces at his home on Monday, has been dumped at Kira Division police headquarters, where a team of his lawyers has rushed to. According to former Deputy Lord Mayor and human rights activist Doreen Nyanjura, who is at the scene, “Counsel Ssegona has been allowed to access him. The rest of us have been blocked.” Police have not said anything about Lukwago’s whereabouts for the past two days, but tweets from the X account of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba on Tuesday indicated he was in the hands of security forces. The X account went on to announce plans to hand over the former lord mayor of Kampala  to the police In a post published on his X account on Tuesday, Muhoozi wrote, ‘Today, I will release this IDIOT to police. I have run out of diapers. Never test me again.” In another post, he added the following: “My beloved wife Charlotte has convinced me to release the criminal Lukwago. I will release him because of my love for her.” The announcement comes a day after widespread condemnation of Lukwago’s reported abduction by soliders who were clearly from SFC while he was allegedly preparing to serve court documents on the CDF in connection with the ongoing treason case involving Dr. Kizza Besigye. The Rule of Law Club of Makerere University on Tuesday issued a statement condemning the alleged abduction and warning that attacks on lawyers performing their professional duties threaten Uganda’s constitutional order and administration of justice. The club argued that if reports that Lukwago was seized by soldiers from his Wakaliga home are accurate, the incident constitutes an abduction rather than a lawful arrest and violates constitutional protections on liberty, dignity, fair hearing and freedom from torture. The student lawyers demanded an immediate and unconditional release of Erias Lukwago, a full and independent investigation into the reported abduction and the conduct of those involved; and called for an end to the targeting of lawyers, journalists, activists and opposition figures. The latest statement adds to concerns already raised by the Uganda Law Society (ULS), which on Monday condemned Lukwago’s reported detention and questioned the legality of the operation. The lawyer’s body demanded that authorities disclose his whereabouts, allow immediate access by his lawyers and family, and uphold constitutional guarantees of due process, warning against intimidation of advocates executing their professional duties. Speaking at a press conference, People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) Deputy President Lulume Bayiga said the party had not heard from its National Executive Chairman, Erias Lukwago, since his disappearance. “We haven’t heard from our leader Erias Lukwago. We don’t know where he is being held, but we understand he is in the custody of the CDF,” Bayiga said. He revealed that Lukwago’s legal team, led by Medard Lubega Ssegona, reportedly went to Nateete Police Station and the Criminal Investigations Directorate headquarters seeking to file a missing person’s report ywsterday but were allegedly denied. “We all know that the national executive chairman was kidnapped, and the kidnapper has reported himself as being the son of the President, Kainerugaba Muhoozi Museveni,” Bayiga told journalists. Bayiga said the party does not know where Lukwago is being detained but noted that Muhoozi’s social media posts indicate he has been under the CDF’s custody. He argued that Lukwago’s only offence was attempting to serve court summons on Muhoozi and commended the Uganda Law Society for what he described as a courageous defence of the rule of law African civil society organisations and human rights defenders, represented by Martha Karua and counsel Proscovia Kunihira, also demanded Lukwago’s release within 48 hours or his production before a competent court The groups called for authorities to disclose his whereabouts and allow immediate access by his family and legal representatives, saying prolonged incommunicado detention violates constitutional and international human rights standards. Although Muhoozi has announced that Lukwago will be handed over to police, it not clear whetherr any formal charges will be or had been preferred against him. Earlier, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has strongly condemned the arrest of former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, describing it as a politically motivated act that undermines the rule of law and judicial independence. Speaking during the party’s weekly press briefing at the FDC headquarters in Najjanankumbi on Monday, the party’s Vice President for Western Uganda, Robert Centenary, said the manner in which Lukwago was apprehended amounted to an extrajudicial action that should not be tolerated in a democratic society. “We have learnt of the abduction of former Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago,” Centenary said. “We stand firmly against extrajudicial arrests, abductions, and any form of enforced disappearance. If he has a case to answer, let him be arraigned before a court of law and let due process be followed.” Lukwago, a senior lawyer and president of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), was picked up by security operatives from his residence in Wakaliga on Monday morning under circumstances that remained unclear, with authorities yet to publicly explain the reasons for his arrest. Centenary argued that the incident was politically motivated and linked it to ongoing legal proceedings involving FDC founding president Dr. Kizza Besigye, in whose defence team Lukwago has been playing a prominent role. “We all know that this is politically motivated because the trial of our founding party president, Kizza Besigye, was meant to have commenced last week if the Judiciary had not exposed its incompetence. Therefore, the government will not be comfortable because it is going to be exposed even more,” he said. He further accused the state of undermining the justice system through intimidation of lawyers and litigants. “In our opinion, this is an attack on the judicial system and on the rights of citizens of this country who are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Government should allow the course of the law to take its natural path.” “Stop intimidating the lawyers, stop intimidating the suspects and citizens of this country. Let the law lead the entire process,” Centenary added. The FDC remarks come amid heightened political tensions surrounding the prosecution of veteran opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and his co-accused. Lukwago, one of Besigye’s lead defence lawyers, has in recent weeks challenged the commencement of the treason trial, arguing that the court must first determine pending applications concerning alleged violations of the accused persons’ constitutional rights and requests for bail before the substantive hearing proceeds. Share on: WhatsAppThe post 🔴 Former Mayor Erias Lukwago dumped at Kira Police appeared first on The Independent Uganda:.