Charges brought against musician-turned-MP in Uganda have been dropped by the country’s military court in the town of Gulu.
Robert Kyagulanyi MP, popularly referred to as Bobi Wine was brought before the military tribunal last week under charges of illegal possession of firearms.
When reports emerged that the lawmaker had been tortured and assaulted while in custody, there has been the general outcry for his immediate release.
The #FreeBobiWine hashtag had taken center stage on social media. With people of the entertainment industry, human rights groups, politicians and a handful of western governments joined forces in calling for his release from detention.
The recent move indicated he will be transferred from the military court to a civilian court where there is speculation he will be charged with treason. The explanation behind such a move is that his actions have endangered the life of the president.
In the town of Arua, during campaigns of by-elections a few weeks ago, Bobi Wine’s chauffeur was killed. He had labeled the attack on his vehicle as an assassination attempt on his life.
In a press release from the presidency of Uganda later that same evening, the opposition was directly accused of having attacked the convoy of President Yoweri Museveni using stones to break the windshield of a car in the president’s convoy.
Neba Benson,
BaretaNews Foreign Correspondent/Analyst
