State witness in the Dr Kizza Besigye treason trial, Andrew Wilson, today, Monday, defended the poor quality video and audio evidence he claims were secretly recorded during various meetings plotting to overthrow the government of Uganda. The visibly unclear video and audio clips lasting over two hours were played before Criminal Division judge Emmanuel Baguma, who is presiding over the case in which Besigye, who is being tried in absentia, is jointly charged with his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale and Captain Denis Oola on treason charges. The videos, some of which are 17 minutes long, 10 minutes, another 5 minutes, and 33 seconds, were all reportedly recorded from Geneva, Switzerland, according to Wilson, a private security investigator. In the tendered-in evidence, one could hardly hear anything or easily identify the persons in the video. Wilson was led by chief state attorney Richard Birivumbuka together with assistant director of public prosecutions Thomas Jatiko. The sound was of extremely bad quality, noisy, and too loud. Wilson defended the poor-quality videos, saying they were recordings of the first meeting in which he was unprepared, and promised to avail the court with better-quality videos tomorrow, Tuesday. Some people who were in court, like Dr Lulume Bayiga, were seen covering their ears due to the echo and noise from the submitted audios and videos. Some actually walked out of the proceedings one by one, saying the evidence was not sufficient to implicate Besigye and his co-accused. They said that while the videos show people in a meeting, one can hardly understand what was actually being discussed. Some of the court attendees said it was difficult to understand whether it was a discussion on treason or something else in the absence of clearer audio. There is also money seen in the videos, which Wilson alleges was genuine money from which they wanted to remove serial numbers so that it becomes counterfeit or fake money, to later be brought to Uganda to destabilise the economy. He didn’t explain how genuine money can destabilise the economy by just removing its serial numbers. Wilson said the recordings were made during meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, Nairobi, Kenya and Athens, Greece, which he allegedly attended while working undercover.He presented at least 11 devices he said he had covertly used to record the meetings. They included a camera concealed in a wall-socket charger, a camera fitted into a USB charger, an audio surveillance device placed on a steel radiator, a magnetic audio recorder, a Wi-Fi camera, an audio-listening device concealed in a metallic flower pot, a power bank fitted with a camera and a necklace containing a camera.He also presented a black flash drive fitted with a camera and a hard drive containing recordings and other material he said he had collected during his investigations.According to Wilson, one of the recordings shows a person he identified as Besigye wearing a dark-grey jacket alongside Joel Wakayima, a Ugandan based in Switzerland.Wilson told court that Wakayima had approached him with a proposal to train about 60 Ugandan opposition supporters, allegedly including Besigye, in paramilitary skills before supplying them with weapons.He alleged that the weapons discussed included firearms, grenades and ricin poison, which he said were intended to support plans to overthrow President Yoweri Museveni’s government.Wilson said he recorded meetings held on January 28, 2024, at Athens International Airport and another on June 14, 2024. He also said he recorded a September 29, 2024 meeting in Athens while wearing a covert camera attached to his waistcoat and using a sports watch equipped with a camera.The witness told court that he returned to Uganda and prepared reports on the meetings, which he handed to former Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) commander James Birungi for further management.Wilson said he also included screenshots of conversations from a Redmi phone he had purchased specifically to communicate with Besigye and Wakayima. Wilson further told court that he bought a hard drive and transferred his recordings and other material onto it because he feared the information could be intercepted at an airport. The hard drive was also presented in court.He said some of the recordings captured conversations in which Besigye allegedly used a United States telephone number to seek the release of Wakayima, who had reportedly been arrested in Switzerland over immigration-related matters.Wilson said another person, identified as Frank Kihehere, participated in one of the meetings, although his face was not captured. He presented his alleged fears before justice Baguma that Kihehere has since repeatedly threatened him, including claims that his company would collapse, and had sent him photographs allegedly taken by Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, during a previous court session.Wilson also told court that a recording of November 16, 2024, when Besigye was arrested in Nairobi, was not saved after Kenyan police seized the devices he had been using before he fled the scene.The witness said he had handed over some of the recording devices, including a Samsung phone, a Redmi phone and a flash drive, to Ugandan Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) investigators.Wilson’s evidence also included recordings from Zoom meetings and physical meetings, which he said had been captured using the concealed devices.Capt Oola is represented by State-funded lawyers Sylvia Namawejje Ebitu, Julius Sserwambala and Sarah Awero. Lutale, however, remains without legal representation.Besigye is being tried in absentia after declining to return to court, citing what he has described as judicial bias and incompetence. He has also remained in prison and is reportedly receiving medication. Besigye, Lutale and Oola deny the treason allegations.The post Besigye trial: state witness defends unclear, noisy video evidence appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.