Civil society Human Rights watchdog Legal Brains Trust (LBT) have dragged the Government of Uganda to court for failing to arrest Sudanese President Omar El Bashir who is on the wanted list of the International Criminal court (ICC) when he appeared in the country on 12th May 2016 for Presidential swearing in ceremony.
Through Counsel Erone Kiiza, LBT is seeking an injunction against government from further inviting Bashir to Uganda while he is still a fugitive of International Justice.
Kiiza says that since Uganda is a signatory to the Rome Statute that formed the ICC, it had an obligation to arrest Bashir or inform other Presidents and dignitaries at the ceremony.
He further contends that failure by the government officials to arrest Bashir affected Ugandans as it demonstrated to the national community that Uganda as a country supports unjustifiable crimes against humanity.
“On account of my training and experience as an investigator and reporter of Human Rights violations both international and domestic , I know that the conduct of President Yoweri Museveni, Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura, Director of Public Prosecutions Mike Chibita, the Attorney General, Minister of Internal Affairs, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among other law enforcement officials, in failing to take steps to arrest and detain or surrender Bashir to ICC was unlawful,” Kiiza submitted in his affidavit in support of this matter.
The ICC has on two occasions issued a warrant of arrest informing all states including Uganda to arrest Bashir and surrender him for prosecution for the Dafur massacres.
The first warrant was issued on 4th March 2009 and the second on 12 July 2010.
At the swearing in ceremony however, President Museveni mocked the ICC, terming it as “a bunch of useless people.”