Dr Stella
Nyanzi collapsed at the International War Crimes Division of the High Court in
Kampala on Thursday minutes after the judge order for her release from Luzira
Prison where she has been for months.
Nyanzi was last year convicted and sentenced to
18 months for harassing President Museveni.
However, she appealed against the conviction
and sentence citing unfairness and that the trial court erred in law.
On Thursday, Justice Henry Peter Adonyo who
heard her appeal ordered for her “immediate release” from prison.
The judge noted that Buganda Road trial
magistrate, Gladys Kamasanyu had no jurisdiction to convict Nyanzi of cyber
harassment.
In addition, Justice Adonyo said no evidence
was adduced by prosecution showing the location- of the device- where the
offence was committed; either Uganda or out of the country.
“Prosecution did not as well as certain the
kind of device which was used to send as the digital prints were not presented
before Buganda road,” the judge observed.
Court also observed that Nyanzi and her lawyers
were not allowed enough time to prepare their defence thus amounting to
unfairness.
The first prosecution witness did not provide a
forensic report on his findings indicating which mobile data was used after he
asserted that Dr Nyanzi might have used a phone.
The judge also said that in criminal offences,
it is the duty of court to ensure that defense witnesses appear by providing
the defendant the favourable avenues like issuing arrest warrants for defence
witnesses who are not compliant which the magistrate never did.
The judge’s orders forced the fully packed
court to explode in excitement as Nyanzi’s supporters, friends and relatives
jostled to congratulate her.
She collapsed as she was being helped to go
sign her release papers.
By the time of filing this story, prison warders were later seen carrying her to a waiting prison car registration number UG 0172U.
By the time of filing this story, prison warders were later seen carrying her to a waiting prison car registration number UG 0172U.
Nyanzi was in August 2019 been given an
18-month sentence but had already served nine months in Luzira Women's Prison
after publishing the verse that magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu said should never
have been put in the public domain, describing it as "obscene" and
"indecent" including suggestions which "could only be made by an
immoral person." - Daily Monitor
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