Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake Butebi has been acquitted Escaping from Lawful custody. Zaake’s acquittal was announced this morning in the Arua Grade One Magistrates Court.
Grade one Magistrate Swaleh Asiku ruled that Zaake has no case to answer adding that there was evidence that the legislator suffered torture in the hands of the Special Forces Command who reportedly arrested him before handing him over to the police.
The Magistrate added that by the virtue of the SFC dumping Zaake at Arua Central Police station without identifying themselves indicated that they knew what they did (torture) was wrong.
He also observed that although the law demands that persons facing arrest need to be informed and granted access to a lawyer, Zaake was never granted the rights, yet the persons who arrested him were never produced in court by the prosecution.
He added that if Zaake was under arrest, he should have been accompanied by a Police Form three to Arua Hospital, which was not the case. The magistrate also noted that details of the accused ought to have been captured in the police station diary and later the lock-up register, which was not the case.
Mr Zaake was on February 22 transferred from Kampala to Arua Court and charged with escaping from lawful custody before he was released on bail of Shs 50 million not cash.
He was then driven to Gulu High Court on the same day and charged with treason before he was remanded to prison.
He would, however, later be released on bail.
Mr Zaake’s lawyer, Mr Medard Segona after the acquittal on Friday told journalists outside court that they will pursue the treason case and win it too.
He said this was a case of witch-hunt of the opposition politicians.
Mr Zaake and Kyaddondo East Member of Parliament, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi 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.
The suspects were tortured in detention.
Mr Kyagulanyi and Mr Zaake were advised to seek specialised treatment abroad.
However, the two were blocked from leaving the country and subsequently arrested at Entebbe Airport.
They were taken to Kiruddu Hospital and placed under the guard of Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence.
Mr Kyagulanyi was later cleared by the medical board and police to travel to the US for treatment but Mr Zaake wasn’t cleared.
Mr Zaake was also later cleared to travel abroad for medical attention before police accused him of escaping from their custody.
