African culture

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...

By PETER SSUUNA The case of the nine youths accused of defaming Pastor Robert Kayanja of Miracle Centre Cathedral, Lubaga, has reached its final stage, with both sides now expected to file their final submissions before judgment is delivered. This came after the defence decided to abandon a witness they had wanted to call, saying his continued involvement could jeopardize the way their case had been progressing. Led by lawyer Bernard Mugenyi, the defence had earlier sought to add an 11th witness to the 10 they had already presented, but State Prosecutor Jonathan Muwaganya objected. Appearing before Magistrate Adams Byarugaba at Nateete-Lubaga Court in Mengo, Mugenyi said they wanted to bring in a witness who had worked on transcribing audio and video recordings from UBC. However, the prosecution insisted that the witness must be from Makerere University, since that is who the defence had initially listed when they disclosed their witnesses. In the previous session, there was a heated e...