The new charges levied on Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere are only triable by the High Court.
According to the amended charge sheet, the state has added charges of terrorism and attempted murder, aggravated robbery among others, totaling to 12 counts.
This was revealed by Jinja Court Chief Magistrate John Francis Kaggwa on Tuesday during Mumbere’s second appearance in court where the Rwenzururu king was not allowed to plead to the charges.
Donning a black suit and a white shirt, Mumbere arrived in court at 9:30 am under tight security. A motorcade of five trucks led him to the court.
After spending two weeks on remand at Nalufenya Police Station in Jinja, King Mumbere is now headed to Luzira Maximum Security Prison near Kampala as order by Justice Kaggwa until December 28, 2016.
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The Omusinga was arrested late last month during the Kasese clashes. About 100 people, including 16 police officers, were killed in the attacks in Kasese on last month following fresh clashes between security forces and suspected Rwenzururu kingdom loyalists. This was after a group of alleged royal guards of Omusinga hurled an improvised grenade at Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and Police officers.
The joint security forces responded with gunfire which sparked off retaliation attacks by suspected kingdom loyalists on Police Posts across the district. Fleeing from gunfire, some of the suspected loyalists sought refuge in the palace of Omusinga Charles Mumbere.
The UPDF ordered the Mumbere to direct the kingdom loyalists to get out of the palace or let the government forces in, but the orders were reportedly ignored. The joint forces forcefully gained entry into the palace, opening fire on the suspected loyalists inside the facility.
