Nearly eight years after the deadly 2018 Arua by-election violence, High Court in Arua has ordered the Chief Magistrate’s Court to conduct a formal judicial inquest into the death of Yasin Kawuma, a driver for opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine).
Kawuma was shot dead on August 13, 2018, as he sat in the passenger seat of a Toyota Tundra during clashes between security forces and opposition supporters, after allegations that President Museveni’s convoy had been stoned.
Police blamed a stray bullet, opposition figures and rights groups have long alleged it was an assassination attempt aimed at Bobi Wine.
The shooting triggered the Arua 33 case, in which Bobi Wine, Kassiano Wadri, Francis Zaake and dozens of others were arrested, allegedly tortured, and charged with treason.
The inquest will formally examine the cause, manner and circumstances of Kawuma’s death to establish criminal liability, bypassing the police investigation that opposition figures have long dismissed as compromised.
Kawuma’s family, including his widows and 12 children, have waited nearly eight years for this step toward accountability.
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