By Witnessradio.org Team
Kiryandongo – Uganda – the criminal trial of the 8 land rights defenders is set to start tomorrow December 15th, 2020, at 10 am at Kiryandongo Magistrate’s court. This follows after the flop of the November trial due to the absence of the magistrate.
Fred Mwawula, Ramu Ndahimana, Samuel Kusiima, Martin Munyansia, Martin Haweka, Amos Wafula, Eliot Talemwa, and George Rwakabisha are facing a prison sentence of four years upon conviction of threatening violence charge.
The prosecution alleges that on September 4th, 2020 the eight and others at large while at Kisalanda, threatened to harm one of the police officers guarding Great Season SMC limited’s plantation.
On November 12, 2020, the prosecution made the disclosure and informed the court that investigations were done and the prosecutor’s chambers were ready to proceed to trial.
Before the illegal arrest and prosecution of the 8 defenders, NGOs including Witness Radio – Uganda, GRAIN, and Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa released a Kiryandongo report “landgrabs at gunpoint”, which exposed gross human rights violations and abuses committed by security agencies and 3 multinationals against communities. The motive for persecution is regarded as retaliation from district security agencies and multinational companies pinned in the report.
The defenders believe that the charges brought against them are linked to their human rights work of mobilizing and empowering communities to legally resist the forceful and violent evictions.
