Eng. Winnie Byanyima, wife to former FDC presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye has Tuesday afternoon survived being beaten by angry relatives of slain child rights activist, Kenneth Akena.
The scuffle happened immediately after High Court adjourned to 5:00pm, when it will decide on whether to grant bail or not to a Kampala businessman Mr Mathew Kanyamunyu, his girlfriend Ms Cynthia Munwangari and his elder brother Joseph Kanyamunyu all facing alleged charges of murdering the activist.
The relatives and several Members of Parliament from Northern Uganda protested against Ms Byanyima’s decision to stand surety for the accused persons, her blood relatives. Kenneth Akena’s griever relatives turned up fuming outside court premises, and wanted to beat up Ms Byanyima for betraying their trust yet they have always support her husband’s Dr Kiiza Besigye political career.
Led by the Aruu County Member of Parliament, Samuel Odonga Otto and Kitgum Woman MP, Beatrice Atim Anywar, the legislators from claim that Dr. Besigye has betrayed their quest for justice by sending his wife to stand surety.
“Dr Besigye should have waited for the government to complete its investigations before sending his wife to stand surety. We have been moving together in Northern Uganda but now he has betrayed us,” Mr Otto said while crying loudly.
The angry legislator also informed a group of journalists that Dr Besigye earlier in the wee hours of the night called him on phone asking him to step down and the accused persons be granted bail which he declined to do.
They also warned Dr Besigye that they would not support him in Northern Uganda.
Hon. Otto later told TheUgandan that: “We told him that Besigye, don’t devalue yourself. So today, other than our brother being buried, the political lines have been drawn. Besigye, your face is killed in the North, you have from now up to 5:00pm to tell your wife Winnie Byanyima to withdraw from this case. And we still reiterate our earlier concerns, Kanyamunyu may get bail, in the actual trial but if Kanyamunyu is acquitted, we shall exhume and carry the body of the late Akena to Besigye’s home.”
Amidst tight security, Byanyima was whisked away in to a waiting car and took off to undisclosed destination but is expected to show up at High Court again before 5:00pm.
Kanyamunyu is suspected to have shot Akena, 33, on November 13 in the stomach over a car scratch and he died a day after at Norvik Hospital, along Bombo road. The accused are battling charges of murder contrary to section 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act (PCA). According to the Act, any person convicted of murder faces a death penalty.
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