Masaka High Court has dismissed a case against Lwemiyaga County legislator Hon. Theodore Ssekikubo where he had been accused of inciting violence.
Prosecution alleged that the legislator led herdsmen on January 3, 2020 to take cattle to Lwemiyaga Market which had been reportedly closed following the outbreak of foot- and -mouth disease in the area.
However, Mr. Charles Yeteise the Masaka Chief Magistrates court on Wednesday afternoon dismissed the case after the prosecution failed to adduce enough evidence against the lawmaker.
The State had also accused the MP of mobilizing cattle traders in his constituent to attack businesses of milk traders who were operating freely.
Defiant Ssekikubo’s supporters reportedly made a peaceful demonstration in retaliation to police’s crackdown on livestock farmers who had made several attempts to take their cattle to Lwemiyaga cattle market for sale, but were blocked by police due to an outbreak of Foot-and -Mouth Disease(FMD) yet the milk sellers were freely doing business.
The defense lawyer led by Mr Alexander Lule, asked court also to drop another case of 2010 where Mr Ssekikubo was also accused of inciting violence during the National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries because the state had failed to prosecute the case.
The dismissal of the case in which Ssekikubo is also said to have poured down milk and destroyed other dairy products of herdsmen on 3 January 2020, at Lwemiyaga market, followed the state prosecutor’s submission that some of the witnesses in the case had snubbed court summonses.
