THE treason trial of opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye yesterday turned dangerous for the second prosecution witness when he conceded to lying under oath and he now faces re-arrest for murder, rape and terrorism.
Mr George Abedoâs
predicament arises from his failure to produce an amnesty certificate, which he claimed he got over three years ago - and was supposed to exonerate him from all criminal acts he committed as a rebel fighter with the Lordâs Resistance Army. Abedo confessed yesterday that he had lied to the High Court.
Appearing for cross-examination as the Stateâs second witness in the treason case against Besigye and 22 others allegedly linked to the shadowy rebel Peopleâs Redemption Army and the LRA, Abedo instead produced an application letter for Amnesty. Court had ordered him last Friday to produce his Amnesty certificate.
The application letter also never bore any acknowledgement of receipt from the Amnesty Commission. âAs far as the records of the government stand, you are still an accused person in a criminal caseâ¦in the Gulu Chief Magistrateâs Court,â the trial Judge, Vincent Kagaba, reminded Abedo.
Defence lawyer Mr David Mpanga immediately shot
up and applied: âIn view of the witnessâ evidence this morning, court should order that he (should) be re-arrested and presented to the court from which he absconded.â
The judge however, said he would decide Abedoâs fate at the end of his testimony.
Court was drawn into prolonged laughter when the composed Abedo admitted once again to being a murderer, rapist, terrorist and a liar. âDo you confess you are a liar,â the Judge probed, to which Abedo replied, âIf this paper (Amnesty application form) does not show so (that I was granted amnesty), then its true...Today I have become a liar.â
The Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Mr Simon Byabakama Mugenyi looked on in disbelief as Abedo, one of his key witnesses, answered in the affirmative to all the questions that were fired at him by both the defence and the Judge. The admissions put the witnessâ credibility in question, an important ingredient in criminal cases where the State is
required to prove an offence beyond reasonable doubt.
The defence said it would today wind up with Abedo, a terror suspect who was once on remand at Kigo Prison. They said they needed yesterday afternoon to wind up their investigations about other offences he allegedly committed in Gulu.
Abedo is the second state witness to run into trouble after Jennifer Aryem.
Aryem couldnât take any more heat after defence lawyers during cross-examination exposed glaring gaps in her testimony attempting to link Besigye to the rebel Lordâs Resistance Army.
Aryem later turned up sick in court and in a subsequent court session declared she needed an operation on her left ear and may need a hearing aid therafter. This followed defence claims that she was being coached via an earpiece hidden under a wig and a headscarf.
Yesterday was the ninth day of the hearing of the treason trial in which if any of the 23 accused persons is convicted he would get a
death sentence.
As Abedo left the witness stand, the State called in its third witness, Lt Migadde Ssemakula, a soldier attached to the Internal Security Organisation. He said he joined the forces as a combatant of the National Resistance Army (NRA) in December 1981.
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| I LIED: Self-confessed killer and rapist George Abedo (left) at court. Right is Lt Migadde. Photos by John Nsimbe |
It took some minutes for Migadde to be produced in the dock, prompting Justice Kagaba to wonder: âDo you keep your witnesses in the fridge?â Ten
minutes later, Migadde was still nowhere to be seen prompting the judge to remark, âEnough is enough,â as he stormed out of court.
When he returned, the witness said ISO deployed him in 2001 to infiltrate Col. Besigyeâs then pressure group, the Reform Agenda, and give periodic reports on what was happening there. âI went there as a spy. I could convert into anything to fulfill my duty,â Migadde told the Court.
While there, Migadde said he did a lot of things for Reform Agenda, including recruiting army veterans to canvass for Dr Besigye in the 2001 presidential elections and helping him (Besigye) to establish links with Joseph Konyâs LRA rebels.
Migadde said he worked closely with Ms Aryem, Abedo, Maj. Salambwa, the late James Opoka, Capt. Mutyaba, Lt. Mugerwa, among others and held meetings with LRA rebel commanders in the bushes of Lacor in Gulu on behalf of Besigye. Court heard that Migadde attended a meeting at Besigyeâs residence in
Luzira and another at the Reform Agenda offices at Bukoto. At both meetings, Migadde claimed the opposition politician discussed his links with the Kony rebels.
âHe told us that we must consolidate the links he had established with the LRA,â said the witness, who said that Besigye once sent them to get arms from the rebels, but Konyâs commanders refused to release the guns. Migadde, who said he dropped out of school in P 6, said he could not remember the dates and months for the alleged meetings, except that it was after the 2001 elections.
Migadde said he would report to Maj. Kaija, Sgt Yawe and another ISO operative he only identified as Katabazi. âI would tell them and they write what I was saying,â he said.
The judge ordered the DPP to retrieve all the reports Migadde made on the Reform Agenda mission and give them to the defence. Mpanga told court the defence needed the report to facilitate the cross-examination, also expected
today.
Migadde, who said he has earlier been attached to the Army barracks of Magamaga, Gadaffi and once at Mubende, said he was between 1989 and 1998 on death row at Luzira Prison for armed robbery, but his conviction and sentence were quashed by the Court Martial Appeal Court and he was re-deployed in ISO, based at Nakasero.
