Bantariza Slams Lukwago over Plan to Drag Museveni to ICC

Deputy government spokesperson, Col Shaban Bantariza has scoffed at the ‘People’s Government’ campaign to drag President Museveni to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for purported human rights violations, saying the move will not bear fruit.

This follows a statement by Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago while addressing a press conference at the opposition group’s offices at Katonga in Kampala on Friday.

Lukwago says evidence collected by the opposition details the role of the president and some of his lieutenants in the 2004 Barlonyo Massacre, 2017 army raid on the Rwenzururu palace which killed several civilians.

As such, he intimated that on Tuesday next week they would launch collection of a targeted 2 million signatures to accompany their petition to The Hague.

“We expect not less than two million Ugandans to sign. Not less than 2 million to sign. In Kampala alone we have 1. 1 million registered voters,” said Lukwago.

However speaking to ChimpReports, Bantariza brushed off this undertaking which he said was not new.

“They started on it long time ago. They have been saying they want to take Museveni to ICC, Kayihura to the ICC and everybody. Let them go who is stopping them?” he said.

Bantariza said an individual entity cannot refer a case or complaint to ICC.

He compared them to lawyer Male Mabirizi whose legal exploits in the East African court to stall the upcoming elections were yet to bear fruit.

It remains unclear how Lukwago and the opposition will secure the ICC’s consent to probe President Museveni.

Lukwago says Ugandans should append their signatures to this petition which will transverse the country as soon as Police clearance is granted.

“We want to tell Bensouda, the prosecutor of the ICC court that here is a petition of Ugandans bearing authentic and genuine signatures, properly executed with cogent evidence. We are going to take a truck full of evidence,” he added.

How does ICC work?

The Court may exercise jurisdiction in a situation where genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes were committed on or after 1 July 2002.

The court also takes action if the crimes were committed by a State Party national, or in the territory of a State Party, or in a State that has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court; or the crimes were referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) pursuant to a resolution adopted under chapter VII of the UN charter.