Delay in Kato trial
Activists are concerned that the trial of the alleged killer of leading Ugandan GLBT activist David Kato (pictured) has still not begun six months after his arrest.
Kato’s lawyer, Francis Onyango, fears that if the wait continues, witnesses’ memories of events will become unreliable and some may relocate and not be found to testify.
“This [delay] will occasion a miscarriage of justice as the key witnesses will be unavailable to testify,” Onyango wrote to the Registrar of the Mukono High Court where the case is expected to be heard.
Due to a backlog of cases and a shortage of judges, it could take up to five years for the case to be completed. Ugandan defendants often wait more than two years before going to trial.
However, Ugandan activists are divided over who they think killed Kato.
Onyango was initially sceptical of the confession of Nsubuga Sydney (aka Enoch), a man who Kato bailed out of jail just a few days before his death. However, he is now confident police have their man.
But other activists in the group Kato headed, Sexual Minorities Uganda, believe police were too quick to rule out other suspects.
