Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde has petitioned court afresh seeking to be released on bail.
The presidential aspirant is currently on remand in Luzira prison where he has been since March this year on treason charges and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
Gen Tumukunde has told the High Court that he failed to secure army generals to stand for him as sureties. He asked court to review and relax the earlier stringent bail conditions.
The former Security minister first applied for bail last month but on April 14, Justice Wilson Kwesiga dismissed his application on account that that he had not presented at least two sureties, who are army officers at his military rank of Lieutenant General or higher (General).
Gen Tumukunde now argues that the bail condition of presenting at least two army officers at his rank or higher is impossible since such senior officers are still serving in the army or in government and cannot stand surety for him.
“It is stated under paragraph 13 of the affidavit in support of the application that all military officers of the rank at which the applicant (Tumukunde) retired from the army (Lt Gen) or of higher rank, are still serving the Uganda government either in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) or other government positions who cannot be allowed to stand surety for me especially that I am charged with treason. It’s practically not possible for the applicant to fulfill that condition,” Lt Gen Tumukunde contends.
His earlier sureties whom court rejected are; Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu, the leader of Alliance for National Transformation party, Ms Salaam Musumba, the Opposition FDC vice chairperson for eastern Uganda, Ms Stella Tumukunde, his wife and Mr Hannington Karuhanga, his brother.
Ms Tumukunde in her affidavit to support her husband’s fresh bail application, avers that her husband has retired from the army and is no longer subject to its rules of presenting at least two serving army officers at his rank or higher.
“In addition,… the applicant is willing to present another surety, Mr Matthew Rukikaire, a very close family friend,” Gen Tumukunde’s wife states in the affidavit.
Charges
Under the charge of treason, prosecution alleges that while appearing on NBS TV during the Morning Breeze show on March 5 this year, Gen Tumukunde said: “If I was Rwanda, I would support those who want to cause change in Uganda.”
The prosecution says the aforementioned utterances were calculated to instigate Rwanda to attack Uganda to cause unlawful change of government.
Earlier this year, Gen Tumukunde wrote to the Electoral Commission seeking its permission to consult the population about his presidential bid in which he wants to contest against his bush war comrade,President Museveni, in the 2021 General Election.
