People’s Government sets submission deadline for ICC petition against Museveni
Wednesday January 08 2020
Dr Kizza Besigye at the launch of "twerwaneko' campaign in November 2019
The People’s Government has set February as the month of submitting a petition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) against alleged human rights abuse and violations by President Yoweri Museveni. This was announced Wednesday by Erias Lukwago the “Deputy President” of the opposition faction, “People’s Government."
In the Press Conference that was carried out at the “People’s Government” offices in Katonga, Lukwago also mentioned that the faction is still collecting signatures from Uganda to support their petition.
“We hope to attain 1.2 million signatures from Ugandans,” Lukwago who is also the Lord Mayor for Kampala said.
When the drive for looking for signatures for the petition started, the people’s Government had a target of having 2 million Ugandans sign it.
“We want two million Ugandans to sign the petition and then see how the (ICC) prosecutor’s office will dismiss it as just another complaint,” Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, told Sunday Monitor in November 2019
Back in November, the “People’s Government” group started working on this petition shortly after starting the Article 3 campaign which they dubbed “Twerwaneko” in colloquial terms.
MORE: Besigye’s ‘People’s Government’ launches "Twerwaneko" campaign
There mission in starting the petition against the President was to, what they termed, fulfill Article 3 of the constitution of the Republic of Uganda and to prosecute him and his implicated officials on crimes against humanity.
Article 3 (4)(5) provides thus;
(4) All citizens of Uganda shall have the right and duty at all times-
(a) to defend this Constitution and, in particular, to resist any person or group of persons seeking to overthrow the established constitutional order; and
(b) to do all in their power to restore this Constitution after it has been suspended, overthrown, abrogated or amended contrary to its provisions.
(5) Any person or group of persons who, as required by clause (4) of this article, resists the suspension, overthrow, abrogation or amendment of this constitution commits no offence.