From Reuters:
Uganda has dropped terrorism charges against a U.S. evangelist who police said was caught with assault rifles hidden in his bedroom just days before last month’s election, the man’s lawyer said on Saturday.
The “evangelist” was Peter Waldron of Wyoming, whom I profiled at length here. Waldron denied the charges, and claimed that the weapons had been planted in his residence in reprisal for an article he had written about recent rioting in the country. Police Inspector General Kale Kayihura had also accused Waldron of “defaming” Uganda.
“The director of public prosecutions (DPP) simply stated to us that they had lost interest in the matter and the charges were being withdrawn,” [Waldron’s lawyer] said. “We think my client might be thrown out of the country tomorrow.”
According to a website set up by Dave Racer on behalf of Waldron, he is now returning to the USA.
So, to ask the glaringly obvious questions: why on earth would the DPP simply “lose interest” in the charges? And having lost interest, on what legal basis could Waldron be expelled from the country? And what about his Congolese co-defendants? Either way, the whole incident makes Museveni’s Uganda look like a decidedly dodgy place.
UPDATE: Waldron is not the only Westerner being kicked out of Uganda for writing something displeasing to the authorities. Human Rights Watch had a report out in mid-March which I’ve only just seen; more details here.
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