Kampala — A total of 164 people were yesterday charged in court with unlawful assembly, rioting and inciting violence following last week's riots that paralysed Kampala city for three days.
Of these, 153 appeared before the Buganda Road Court while 11 were charged at the Makindye Magistrate's Court.
At Buganda Road, the suspects appeared in groups of 20 and 30 people. The magistrates, Francis Matenga and John Wekesa, remanded them to Luzira Prison after the prosecution said the situation in the city was still tense.
The court was filled to capacity with relatives and friends. Most suspects were aged between 18 and 30 years.
A total of 58 suspects were charged with demolishing Nateete Police Post, in which Police records, files, radio calls, exhibits, office furniture and several Police diaries were destroyed.
Prosecutor David Lukwago told the Buganda Road Court that if the accused were released, they were likely to re-organise themselves and resume rioting.
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"You are all remanded pending further investigations and determination of your bail by the prosecution," magistrate Wekesa told the accused.
The prosecution argued that the accused on Friday in different places in Kampala district held unlawful assembly and rioted.
The accused, who included a woman, were arrested in different places of Mulago, Kawempe and Bwaise.
Attempts by over 10 lawyers to secure bail for their clients were unsuccessful. The lawyers included Joseph Mayambala, Guma Byamugisha, Rita Athina and Chrisestom Mutumba.
At Makindye Magistrates' Court, the suspects were charged with inciting violence and destroying property in Katwe, a Kampala suburb. Those charged, who included an elderly Prince Godfrey Wasswa of Buziga, Makindye, were also remanded to Luzira Prison after they denied the charges. The suspects are to reappear in court on different dates.
The punishment for rioting is imprisonment for three years while anyone convicted of destroying property is liable to life imprisonment.
More suspects will be charged today at the Buganda Road Court, according to the Police.
The Kyaddondo South MP, Issa Kikungwe (DP), who was arrested at a function at Lweza Catholic Church in Kajjansi on Sunday evening, was released that very night on Police bond.
He argued that he had not been informed of the charges against him. Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said the MP was being investigated for inciting violence.
The Police on Saturday said they arrested 550 people in the three-day riots in the city and across Buganda.
The riots, which followed the Government's objection to the Kabaka's visit to Kayunga said to be for security reasons, claimed 21 lives.
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