Terror suspects held in Uganda give hunger strike notice
What you need to know:
- Kenyans who are being held at the Luzira Upper Prison are on a go-slow, protesting the delay of their case that has been pending before the courts since they were formally charged in 2011.
- Together with four Ugandans and a Tanzanian, the Kenyans are accusing the State of deliberately delaying the hearing of the petition to ensure their prolonged detention without being tried.
Six Kenyans who are being held in Uganda over the 2010 Kampala bombings are among 12 detainees who have given notice of a hunger strike to protest the delay of their cases.
According to Muslim Human Rights Forum (MHRF) chairman Al-Amin Kimathi, those who have given notice of a hunger strike include Omar Awadh Omar, Idris Magondu, Habib Suleiman Njoroge, Hussein Hassan Agade, Yahya Suleiman Mbuthia and Mohamed Ali Mohamed.
“The 12 have now served notice of their intention to go on a hunger strike beginning next Monday,” Mr Kimathi said.
He said the six Kenyans who are being held at the Luzira Upper Prison are on a go-slow, protesting the delay of their case that has been pending before the courts since they were formally charged in 2011.
Uganda Prisons authorities, however, say they have not received any notice of intentions from the six Kenyan to go on hunger strike.
“No, not of late, but they have served such a notice in the past and for us what we do is to forward their concerns to the authorities. We do forward them to the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General,” said Frank Baine, the Uganda Prisons spokesperson.
“It has happened in the past. If they decide to go on hunger strike, we shall handle it. The food will always be there for them if they want. We live with them as family,” Mr Baine added.
WANT TRIAL IN KENYA
He said the Kenyans' intentions was for their trial to be conducted in Kenya, but since the crimes were committed in Uganda and arrests made there, they would have to wait until the end of the justice system for them to appeal.
“The problem is the lack of speedy trial which, many Ugandans in prison are facing and it’s not us. It’s with the justice system,” said Mr Biane.
The six men have been in remand custody since then, awaiting hearing of a constitutional application they filed in the Ugandan Constitutional Court in September 2011.
The 2011 suit was to challenge their criminal trial, which was then stayed to await the outcome of the application.
Together with four Ugandans and a Tanzanian, the Kenyans are accusing the state of deliberately delaying the hearing of the petition to ensure their prolonged detention without being tried.
They claim that their efforts to have the hearing expedited or to be granted bail pending the determination of the cases have been frustrated by the State.
They say the only time they had been set to appear in court for the hearing of the constitutional matter, on October 17, it was called off in unclear circumstances which have not been explained to them or to their lawyers to date.
“These are justifiable acts of desperation. The detainees have been abandoned by their own government and subjected to lengthy disguised detention-without-trial by the other. The delays are deliberately executed by the state in the absence of evidence to sustain prosecution,” Mr Kimathi said.
He added that due to the delay and lengthy incarceration the suspects’ health has deteriorated.
“According to families of the detainees who visited them yesterday, the go-slow involves refusal to perform personal chores like exercises and games, bathing and conforming to prison routine and instead sitting in their cells all the time they are supposed to be out,” Mr Kimathi said.
