Bobi Wine and 12 Others Granted Bail and freedom
 |
| Bobi wine in the Ambulance |
Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) has left
Gulu district for Kampala where he is expected to receive much needed medical
treatment.
On Monday morning, Bobi Wine and 11 others with whom he is
accused of treason were released on bail by the High Court Justice, Steven
Mukibi.
But just like the previous appearances in court, the singer
turned legislator could not walk normally. This time, he was using two crutches
to walk to and from court.
Outside Gulu High Court and the roads leading to town,
business came to a standstill as hundreds of people gathered along the road to
catch a glimpse at the International Hospital Kampala (IHK) ambulance carrying
Bobi Wine who in the last two weeks has caused political flares to rise.
Many of them could be seen raising their fists and chanting
‘People Power’, a slogan that Kyagulanyi has been using during political
campaigns. Police and the military deployed heavily along the roads.
Leading the motorcade was another ambulance from Parliament
which carried the other two legislators Paul Mwiru and Gerald Karuhanga. The
motorcade was escorted by Police trucks.
Upon approval of his bail application, Bobi Wine, the other
MPs Karuhanga and Mwiru spent almost three hours formalizing their bail
paperwork as their supporters anxiously waited in the court precincts.
It is likely that Kyagulanyi will be admitted at IHK to
among others get diagnosed and treated for his hip which has caused him
difficulty in walking.
Ealier in the day, Democratic Party President, Norbert Mao
told reporters in Gulu that there are plans to evacuate the legislator to
London Royal Hospital in the U.K so he gets highly specialized medical care.
Mao said that Kyagulanyi together with ailing Mityana
municipality MP, Francis Zaake will be received by Mr Godfrey Sekisonge, the DP
leader in the U.K.
“We have made arrangements so that both of them are
transferred to the London Royal Hospital in the U.K to get medical attention,”
Mao said.
“We know that MPs are entitled to receive treatment at the
cost of the tax payer. But that requires a long process including getting
approval from the Medical Board. We requested to meet with the Prime Minister
so that he can waiver this process as was the case with MP Betty Nambooze,” he
said.
Bobi Wine’s release brings an end two weeks of intense
condemnation towards government and its security agencies over acts of torture
alleged to have been visited on Bobi Wine and his colleagues while in detention.
During Monday’s bail hearing, two of the suspects who were
similarly in dire state collapsed inside court.
Last week, medics under their umbrella body, Uganda Medical
Association revealed that they had set aside a team of 16 highly specialized
medics to offer treatment to Bobi Wine. However, the State had not granted them
access to him at the time.
They condemned the acts of torture saying that it goes
against the ethics of the medical profession and that it was important for the
legislator required to be alive first, before the other judicial processes
could follow.
COMMENTS