The National Unity Platform (NUP) party has hired a Turkish lawyer to handle the controversy surrounding the deportation of government critic Fred Kajjubi Lumbuye, Daily Monitor can reveal.
Sources handling the matter, who preferred anonymity in order to speak freely, told this newspaper that the identity of the lawyer remains concealed for fear of being compromised by the Uganda government.
On August 5, 2021, the lawyer petitioned the Attorney General of Turkey to block the impending deportation of Mr Lumbuye so that the matter could be handled in the local courts. The petition was granted.
NUP is, however, according to sources, faced with a bill of $71,000 (about Shs255m) as legal fees to make sure that Mr Lumbuye gets asylum in the Netherlands.
The Opposition party has since started a covert fundraising spearheaded by their coordinators across the world.
By yesterday, the political party, through their diaspora teams, had collected up to $20,000 (about Shs70m), which had been handed to the lawyer in two instalments of $15,000 and $5,000.
“The moment this money is found, Lumbuye will straight away be taken to the Netherlands, which is the country that is most interested in the matter by now,,” the source said in an interview yesterday.
Sources also revealed that Mr Lumbuye was still being held under Turkish custody and can only be accessed by lawyers.
According to Interpol processes, the country seeking the extradition of the suspect must first seek a court order in their country and then apply for Interpol’s help to find the accused.
The Interpol constitution, however, doesn’t respond to offences that are political in nature.