PRESIDENT YOWERI MUSEVENI AND HIS SUDANESE COUNTERPART IN RWAKITURA

Justice Moses Mukiibi of the International Crimes Division of the High Court has declined to issue a provisional Warrant of Arrest for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir  arrived this week in the country on a state visit.

Justice Mukiibi dismissed a request by Uganda Victims Association, a civil society organization through their lawyer Nicholas Opiyo who had petitioned the court for  the arrest warrant of the Sudanese  leader, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Uganda as a signatory of the Rome Statute, they said, should have apprehended Bashir on arrival into the country. The Sudanese President was hosted by President Yoweri Museveni at his country home in Rwakitira

Justice Mukiibi dismissed this request on grounds that currently there is no fresh warrant on Bashir disobeyed by Kampala.

The Ugandan government is still waiting to be sanctioned by the United Nations Security council for failing to arrest Bashir in May last year when he visited for the swearing in ceremony of President Yoweri Museveni.

Today’s hearing of the application for the arrest warrant didn’t carry on as planned as Principle State Attorney Elisha Bafirawala and State Attorney Gerald Batanda — the representatives of the respondents — asked for a two weeks adjournment to enable them study the file.

Bafirawala said she had just been served Wednesday morning.

The judge advised that since there is new fresh arrest warrant on president Bashir; it’s not an urgent matter and thus adjourned the case to 12th December 2017 for hearing.

In this application, the civil society organization wants court to issue a standing warrant of arrest against Bashir to arrest him whenever he visits Uganda since he is wanted by ICC on Crimes committed against Humanity in Darfur South Sudan.