Court grants Bobi Wine right to hold peaceful demonstrations

A Constitutional court ruling issued on Friday by a panel of 5 justices has nullified sections 5 and 10 of the 2013 Public Order Management Act that criminalizes people’s rights to assemble without police clearance.

In a ruling issued by Justices Elizabeth Musoke, Frederick Egonda-Ntende, Christopher Madrama, Monica Mugenyi, and Christopher Gashirabake, court held that the right to assembly is a universal democratic provision that should not be breached by Ugandan laws.

“I would declare that the charges against the accused persons (Mr. Kyagulanyi and others) that were based on their participation in a peaceful albeit authorized public meeting constituted an impermissible limitation on their right to assembly, and contravene Article 29(1)(d) of the 1995 constitution,” ruled Justice Elizabeth Musoke.

“I would make an order permanently staying the criminal proceedings against the accused persons vide Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court criminal case no. 0676 of 2018 with no order to costs,” she added.

The ruling comes at a time when so many political activists languish in incarceration as police arrests and detains them under section 5 and 10 of POMA that warrant one to seek clearance from the office of the Inspector General of Police before taking to the streets.

The ruling was premised on a 2018 case in which the People Power movement leader Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert alias Bobi Wine was charges following his foiled “# ThisTaxMustGo” protests where he was expressing discontent with the social media and mobile money taxes.

Mr. Kyagulanyi was charged alongside his elder brother Fred Nyanzi, Mr. David Lule, Mr. Julius Katongole, and Mr. Edward Ssebuufu at Buganda Road Court in 2019.