KAYANJA CASE TURNS INTO A LEGAL BATTLEFIELD: DEFENCE WANTS NEW WITNESS, STATE OBJECTS.

By Peter Ssuuna-MENGO, KAMPALA 

The case of the nine youths accused of blackmailing Miracle Center Cathedral Pastor Robert Kayanja with false sodomy allegations has turned into a full-blown legal battlefield, after the defence requested to bring in a new witness a move that has sparked tension in court.

The drama unfolded after the defence team, led by lawyer Bernard Mugenyi, told court that they had asked State Prosecutor Jonathan Muwaganya to present a witness from the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) who worked on the translation and transcription of audio and video evidence, but he had dismissed their request.

Appearing before Principal Grade One Magistrate Adams Byarugaba at the Nateete Lubaga Court in Mengo, Mugenyi explained that initially they had secured a witness from Makerere University's School of Languages to do the job, but there were inconsistencies regarding the chain of custody, which forced them to opt for UBC.

STATE STRONGLY OBJECTS

State Prosecutor Muwaganya strongly opposed the move. He argued that the defence is attempting to smuggle in a new witness and new documents at the final stage of the trial, which is not permitted under the law.

He added that the defence had already presented to him translations of the same recordings from Makerere University which were exhibited in court, and wondered why they now want to introduce another version done by UBC.

Muwaganya argued that if the defence has no other witness to call, the case should be closed rather than wasting court time on matters that appear to have already been concluded.

Mugenyi fired back, telling Muwaganya that he has no powers to dictate which witness the defence should call, and clarified that the person in question is not a substantive witness but a transcriber who will only translate the recordings. He then asked the magistrate to dismiss the State's objection.

DRAMA OVER THE WORD 'POSITIVE'

Before that, there was earlier drama caused by Government surgeon Dr. Phenehance Bwambale.

While responding to questions from defence lawyer Bernard Mugenyi, Dr. Bwambale stated that two of the youths he examined were found with infections, which he referred to as 'positive'.

The moment Muwaganya heard the word 'positive', he stood up and demanded that the doctor explain what he meant by the word. A heated exchange erupted between the State prosecutor and the witness as they tried to get the true meaning of what was contained in the Police Form 3s.

Lawyers for the accused tried to block the line of questioning, arguing that there was no need for further clarification because Dr. Bwambale had never stated that he found evidence of sodomy on the youths.

Later, Dr. Bwambale clarified that 'his medical examination did not reveal any evidence to confirm that the youths were sodomized'.

Dr. Bwambale was testifying as the 10th witness for the defence.

WHO ARE THE ACCUSED?

The nine accused are Reagan Ssentongo, Peter Sserugo, Alex Wakamala, Labeeb Kalifah, Moses Tumwine, Martin Kagolo, Aggrey Kanene, Israel Wasswa and Jamil Mwanda.

They are accused of invading Pastor Kayanja's church on September 17, 2021, and claiming that he owed them money for allegedly sodomizing them allegations which the State says are false and fabricated.

After hearing both sides, Magistrate Byarugaba adjourned the case to October 7, 2026, when he will rule on whether to allow the new witness from UBC and the new documents to be admitted into evidence.