Kampala, Sept. 18 – The prosecution’s star witness in the treason trial of veteran Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has told the High Court in Kampala that he was working for the Ugandan government at the time he gathered intelligence used against the accused, a disclosure that defence lawyers are expected to seize on in coming sessions.
The witness, an American national testifying under the name Andrew Wilson and said to also go by the alias “Orlando,” made the admission during re-examination by Chief State Attorney Richard Birivumbuka before Justice Emmanuel Baguma. Wilson is understood to be the prosecution’s principal witness in the case, having previously testified at length about alleged meetings, weapons and financial transactions connected to the charges facing Besigye.
Dr Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate and one of Uganda’s most prominent opposition figures, faces treason charges alongside co-accused Obeid Lutale and Denis Oola. The trial has drawn significant public attention both in Uganda and across the region, given Besigye’s long history of challenging President Yoweri Museveni’s decades-long rule.
Earlier sessions in the trial are reported to have featured testimony from Wilson describing his limited formal education, as well as scrutiny over gaps and omissions in his earlier statements to investigators, including references to the co-accused that he had previously left out. Defence lawyers have in past hearings also raised questions over the quality of video evidence presented in support of the prosecution’s case, with Wilson defending footage that has been described in court as unclear and noisy.
The revelation that the key witness was, by his own account, working for the state while covertly monitoring Besigye is likely to fuel arguments from the defence that his testimony was compromised from the outset and should be treated with caution by the court. Government prosecutors have not publicly responded to the implications of the disclosure beyond the proceedings themselves.
The trial continues, with the prosecution expected to call further witnesses as the case, closely watched by rights groups and opposition supporters across East Africa, proceeds before the High Court.