Why Kayihura case has changed

Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, the Chairman of the General Court Martial, while reading them the charges the same day, said the officers, around October 25, 2013, while in unlawful possession of firearms and grenades, ordinarily a monopoly of the Defence Forces, conveyed Joel Mutabazi a former presidential guard for Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Jackson Kalemera without their consent to Rwanda.

However, The Independent has seen a document showing a list of persons, cars, cash, cows and phones that Ugandan and Rwandan police authorities officially handed to each other. Mutabazi is listed amongst those handed to Rwanda.

Apart from this group, Abdullah Kitata, the self-appointed patron of BodaBoda 2010, and a renowned Kayihura ally, was also arrested by the military over among others possession of arms, and also linked to the concerns over Rwanda.

Blaise Kamugisha, the head of the once powerful National Crime Preventers Forum, another Kayihura ally, was early this year forced to flee to Kenya after a tipoff that ISO and CMI operatives were looking to arrest him over allegations that crime preventers were working with Kayihura with the backing of Rwanda to organise armed rebellion against Museveni.

That Kayihura is being charged with among others, the alleged kidnapping of Rwanda nationals like his aides, therefore, might not have surprised many. It is on the basis of this that some analysts say Kayihura’s fall and his subsequent trial mainly have to do with the deteriorating relations between Uganda and Rwanda.

Part of Kayihura’s problem is that he has a strong connection with the Rwandan leadership at the highest level. President Kagame was Kayihura’s best man at the latter’s wedding.

Given these connections and the allegations that he was being propped up by Rwandan authorities to overthrow President Museveni, it was only a matter of time before he was tried just like his aides.

He follows a list of top military officers accused of attempting to challenge President Museveni who have been court-martialed. These have include former army Commander James Kazini, now deceased, Gen David Sejusa; the former coordinator of intelligence services, and former Security Minister Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde. While for all of these charges varied in nature, the central theme in all of them appeared attempting to challenge President Museveni.

In the end, all of them have had to negotiate their freedom with Museveni and not in the courts. Kayihura appears destined for a similar route. He has already asked to meet President Museveni and plead his case.

Apart from this, his legal team led by former Solicitor General Peter Kabatsi, Elly Karuhanga, Joseph Matsiko, and Ellison Karuhanga, among others, all from Kampala Associated Advocates, appeared keen to plead mercy rather than fight for their client.

Kabatsi said: “Our client was well aware of his rights and what to do to stop this injustice of unlawful detention because it is beyond 48 hours. However, on his own instructions and after consultations with his legal team, we considered that his accusers have a run through their pile of falsehoods because we knew the truth would triumph.”

Kabatsi went on to thank the UPDF leadership for treating Gen. Kayihura with respect.

On his part, Karuhanga asked court to let Kayihura “walk out of the court to freedom and touch his wife” amidst laughter in court.

Gutti advised the team to apply for bail and the mood in court was not as tense as is always the case with similar high profile cases. A lot of that has to do with how Kayihura is approaching the case—sending a signal to Museveni that he is remorseful rather than appearing to fight back.

And this is because he knows that his fate will largely depend on his former boss who previously considered him a “loyal cadre” before they fell out.