The lawyer of bedridden Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament Francis Zaake Butebi has dismissed reports that the legislator has been cleared to travel abroad to seek medical attention, URN reports.
Zaake together with the Kyaddondo East legislator Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine were stopped from traveling on Thursday at Entebbe International Airport by Police as they tried to leave the country to seek treatment.
However, on Friday, Kyagulanyi was allowed to travel to the United States of America after clearing with the Medical Board. But Zaake was not allowed to travel on grounds that he had not yet completed the process.
The procedure requires that for any person to leave the country for medication, he or she must be examined by doctors who then write a report indicating that their conditions can only be treated outside the country. From there the team of Medical Board Doctors looks at the report and makes recommendations to the Director General of Health Services, who then refers the matter to the Minister of Health for consideration.
But this reporter understands that the Criminal Investigations Department Director AIGP Grace Akullo told lawyer Asuman Basalirwa that his client Zaake has a case to answer and would be arraigned in court any time from now before he gets permission to travel.
Now Zaake’s lawyer Basalirwa says that the legislator’s rights to health and freedom of movement are deprived and he is hopeful that the next step will be going to court. Zaake is currently detained in Kiruddu hospital.
He noted that Zaake’s condition needs specialized attention which he can only get from hospitals abroad. On Friday, Zaake and Kyagulanyi had rejected Doctors of Kiruddu hospital from carrying out any medication checks.
Semujju Nganda the opposition chief whip in Parliament has noted that it was wrong for government to stopping the legislators from traveling.
He noted that it is wastage of government resources to send armed forces for a chase on someone who has no case to answer. Semujju advised the government to go for a retreat arguing that it has made many mistakes out of panicking.
