By Curthbert Kigozi
Dr Stella Nyanzi voluntarily appeared before court on Thursday January 31, despite earlier advice from her doctor to stay away from the trial until she receives adequate post-abortion care. This followed a miscarriage the jailed former Makerere University researcher suffered while at Luzira Prison.
Dr Nyanzi had on January 17 refused to board the prison bus to attend a court session. A prison wardress reportedly told trial magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu that Dr Nyanzi declined to come out of her cell claiming her lawyer and doctor had refused her to attend court.
However, on Thursday, Dr Nyanzi turned up and appeared composed and relaxed in the dock at Buganda Road Court as her lawyer, Isaac Ssemakadde, spent hours convincing the magistrate to dismiss charges against his client which he says do not disclose the actual offense she committed.
Ssemakadde contends that the charges of cyber harassment and offensive communication against Nyanzi are a duplicate of each other and they cannot independently stand on their own.
Nyanzi has spent three months on remand at Luzira Prison for allegedly posting an offensive message on her official facebook page while attacking the privacy of President Museveni and his late mother Esteri Kokundeka.
According to prosecution, the said message was posted and circulated by Dr Nyanzi disturbed the peace of the President.
She will returned to Luzira prison until Friday, February 15 when court will deliver its ruling on whether to drop the charges against her.
Ssemakade also revealed that the Uganda Human Rights Commission on Monday 28 begun investigations regarding Dr Nyanzi’s complaint of denial to post abortion care and management, access to her health records and access to emergency private medical treatment by the Uganda Prison Services.
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