Ugandan MP in court for urinating in open

Arua Municipality, MP Ibrahim Abiriga, is today slated to appear before City Hall Court to answer charges of urinating on Street.

Last week, the court issued criminal summons against Abiriga after pictures showing him urinating near the Ministry of Finance gate in Kampala went viral on social media raising public concern over the eighth parliament legislator’s conduct.

Abiriga who is synonymous with the yellow color since he belongs to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is now facing the charges of being a public nuisance and is expected to appear before Grade one Magistrate Beatrice Khainza this morning.

Prosecution alleges that on September 25, 2017 along Kyaggwe Road in Kampala city, Abiriga urinated on the fence of the Ministry of Finance.

The alleged picture of the MP (in a yellow shirt) easing himself near the entrance of the ministry of finance went viral on social media.

According to the prosecution, Abiriga’s act is against Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) maintenance law and order ordinance, 2016.

If Abiriga confesses to the offence in court today, he will be sentenced in accordance with the KCCA maintenance law and order ordinance 2016 which states that if any person is found guilty of easing in the city, commits a public nuisance offence and is fined sh40, 000 or imprisoned for 2 months or serve both sentences.

Although, Abiriga allegedly admitted urinating on the street, he can still chose to abandon his earlier statement or remain silent and leaves it to the prosecution to prove its case against him.

Speaking to the media last week, Abiriga admitted the offence. “I was badly off. Should I have kept urine on myself? What is the problem with that?” he said.

Some members of the public want Abiriga to be given a custodial sentence on top of a fine to act as an example to other offenders.

“Abiriga deserves a custodial sentence and a fine. He ashamed our country across the globe,” Edrisa Kakembo an environmentalist said.

However, Haj Nsereko Mutumba, the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council Spokesperson called for a lenience sentence for Abiriga in case he is convicted, saying that he is an old man who might be suffering from diabetes.

“If Abiriga urinated on his cloth, they would again blame him. He might be suffering from diabetes. Secondly, in Islam urinating on cloth takes away ones purity,” he said.