DOCTOR BWAMBALE’S TESTIMONY; THE LAST STROKE THAT BROKE SSENYONGA’S EVIL PLOT AGAINST PASTOR KAYANJA

By Our Court Reporter MENGO, KAMPALA

What was expected to be the masterstroke for the defence has turned out to be the final nail in its coffin.

Dr. Phenehance Bwambale, a Police Surgeon and Inspector of Police attached to Kabalye Police Training School, Masindi, was the 10th and final defence witness in the case of nine youths accused of conspiracy to blackmail Pastor Robert Kayanja of Miracle Centre Cathedral and aggravated trespass.

The defence, allegedly backed by Pastor Jackson Ssenyonga, had banked on Dr. Bwambale's medical report to corroborate claims that the nine youths had been sodomized.

Instead, his testimony dismantled the very foundation of the case.

NO EVIDENCE OF SODOMY

Appearing before Principal Grade One Magistrate Adams Byarugaba at Nateete Lubaga Court Mengo, Dr. Bwambale told court that he had physically examined the suspects from Masindi Main Prison and Nsambya Police Health Centre IV.

His findings: Seven of the nine suspects who claimed to have been sodomized had normal sphincters, normal reflexes, and intact anal regions with no features consistent with sodomy.

DR. Bwambale 

"I found no evidence that any of the suspects - Reagan Ssentongo, Labib Kalifah, Martin Kagolo, Peter Sserugo, Alex Wakamala and Moses Tumwine - had been sodomized," Dr. Bwambale testified.

He added that the other two accused, Israel Wasswa and Aggrey Kanene, who are said to be workers of Pastor Ssenyonga and were alleged to be the link between Ssenyonga and the other accused, also showed normal medical findings.

Earlier, on September 7th, the defence had tendered Police Form 3As signed by Dr. Bwambale. Two of the forms indicated that two suspects had a "moving tailbone." But under cross-examination, Dr. Bwambale clarified that he could not link that condition to sodomy, noting that such a condition can be caused by infections, improper sitting positions and external trauma.

RE-EXAMINATION FAILS

Sources say the testimony left the defence camp in shock. In a bid to salvage the situation, lawyers Robert Ojiambo and Humphrey Tumwesigye were pushed to re-examine the doctor.

On October 1st, Counsel Ojiambo appeared with his junior, Bernard Mugyenyi. Counsel Tumwesigye was absent. The re-examination yielded nothing new.

Dr. Bwambale stood by his report: The boys were fine.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Dr. Bwambale's testimony echoed that of Dr. Sam Kalungi, Head of Pathology at Mulago National Referral Hospital, who had testified on January 29th, 2024.

Dr. Kalungi, who examined the suspects on request by Detective Inspector Cotilda Nandutu, told court: "Both their buttocks and anus were in a normal condition with no wounds or signs of bleeding."

He explained: "The examination was important because when a person has been sodomized, the muscles can't hold human waste. In this case, the sphincters were intact."

At that time, the defence had objected to Dr. Kalungi's evidence, arguing he was not a gazetted police surgeon. Ironically, the police surgeon they insisted on has now delivered an even more damning blow to their case.

LAST CARDS: SOCIAL MEDIA AND UBC WITNESS

With the medical evidence collapsing, the defence camp reportedly turned to other tactics.

TikTok accounts operating under names such as Olivia Kateme, Mark Kigozi, Labisa Media and Dark Truth began circulating distorted court reports, at one point falsely claiming Pastor Kayanja had lost the case while trial was still ongoing.

Their last legal hope was to smuggle in a translation expert from UBC to interpret the audio and video exhibits. Court rejected the move, insisting that the agreed expert from Makerere University's School of Languages must be the one to testify. When the Makerere expert failed to show up, lawyer Bernard Mugyenyi claimed he had been compromised. Magistrate Byarugaba dismissed the claim as hearsay.

NEXT STEP

With the defence case now closed after calling 10 witnesses against the prosecution's 13, Magistrate Byarugaba set December 9th, 2026 for filing of final written and oral submissions and fixing of a judgment date.

After three years of delays, dramatic twists and social media propaganda, the Kayanja trespass and conspiracy case is finally heading to judgment.