Nicholas Opiyo in Ugandan court.
Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni will keep a prominent Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, who also represents leading presidential candidate Bobi Wine, in jail at least until Dec. 28.
Opiyo, who was arrested Tuesday, was denied bail because a magistrate judge Douglas Singiza said his court didn’t have jurisdiction due to the nature of the case.
The Museveni regime, in court documents, claim that Opiyo received $340,000 on Oct. 8 “through ABSA Bank Account No. 6004078045 in the names of Chapter Four Uganda, knowing at the time of receipt that the said fund were proceeds of crime.” The magistrate judge said the case was being referred to the Anti-corruption court through the High Court Registrar. Opiyo, who is the executive director of Chapter Four, an independent not-for profit non-partisan organization dedicated to the protection of civil liberties and promotion of human rights in Uganda. Its name comes from the bill of rights contained under chapter four of the Ugandan constitution.
Meanwhile the four other lawyers arrested with Opiyo, Odur Anthony, Herbert Dakasi, J. Hamidu, and Esomu Simon Peter have been released on police bond.
It’s widely believed the Museveni regime wants to keep Opiyo detained to bogged down in the courts during this critical three weeks before the Jan. 14, 2021 presidential election as the state armed forces escalate violent attacks against civilians.
The regime also believes he may have played a role in getting the U.S. to call for sanctions against some senior officers in Uganda’s military for human rights abuses. In recent weeks U.S. lawmakers Sen. Bob Menendez, and Rep. Eliot Engel, as well as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have either called for targeted sanctions or a review of aid to the Museveni regime.
