Entebbe businessman Bruno Francis Bazibu, faces 10-years imprisonment if he is convicted of the charges of unlawful possession of ammunition.
Bazibu, who is battling the charges under Section (3) (2) of the Firearms Act, Cap 299, is expected to appear before the General Court Martial (GCM) on Tuesday to plead to the charges.
Prosecution alleges that Bazibu on November 11, 2020, while at Bugembe-Gembe Kasengeje in Wakiso district was found with one round of AK47 ammunitions, a monopoly of the Uganda People Defence Forces.
According to a reliable source, the accused will not be charged with offences related to being in possession of pepper spray and a teargas canister, because it’s not within their jurisdiction.
Another source revealed that the accused last week appeared before the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) Unit Disciplinary Committee (UDC), at Mbuya in Kampala, where Col Tom Kabuye read out the charges to the accused.
The accused was later remanded to Makindye Military Police barracks.
The source, however, revealed that the accused was not formally charged before the UDC because it has no powers to handle the matter. “The file was forwarded to GCM because UDC has no powers to handle the case.”
Court documents indicate that plain-clothed men arrested Bazibu on October 31, 2020, at Okello House in Kampala, where he had gone to attend a meeting. Since then, the relatives of the accused tried to access him in vain.
The documents further show that on November 11, police officers, attached to Kajjansi Police Station and other security operatives conducted a search at the accused’s home at Bwebajja.
The accused was arraigned at UDC after Justice Emmanuel Baguma ordered security operatives to produce the body of the businessman in court, dead or alive.
“The lawyers should also be allowed to access their client while in detention,” the judge directed.
The directive was prompted by an application of habeas corpus filed by the accused’s wife, Fiona Namazzi, in the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala, seeking orders to have her husband produced before court to determine if his detention is lawful.
She had complained that her husband was held incommunicado since October 31 by SFC without being produced or charged in any court, and no explanation had been given to his next of kin for his continued detention.
Through Lukwago, Matovu and Co. Advocate, Namazzi, contended that her husband’s detention was illegal and unconstitutional.
Namazzi had sued the presidential guard Special Forces Command (SFC), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Chief of Military Intelligence and Attorney General (AG), who is the chief legal adviser of government.