KAMPALA: The hearing of criminal cases against Kampala businessman Mwanje Dodoviko and police officers for the demolition of St Peters Ndeeba Church has flopped again.
Mwanje and several others, including five police officers, a Gombolola Internal Security Officer, and two employees of Kampala Capital City Authority, were arrested in August last year, following the demolition of the church at the height of a land wrangle involving the businessman, members of the Buganda Kingdom Royal Family, and church leaders.
According to court records, Mwanje is accused of the theft of assorted church properties valued at Shs850 million. The six police officers and the GISO are accused of abuse of office, corruption, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanour, and disobeying lawful orders.
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The case that was brought before the court in December 2020 has failed to take off to date. On numerous occasions, the prosecution argued that they were still investigating a line they used in all their appearances throughout 2021.
In August 2021, the presiding magistrate, Joan Aciro, threatened to throw out the case for lack of prosecution, but on the next appearance for hearing, it was the trial magistrate who never showed up.
The case had been scheduled for hearing today, but the prosecutor was not present because she was reportedly involved in events commemorating Joan Kagezi, the former Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions who was assassinated in 2015.
When the magistrate informed the court about the matter, defence lawyers led by Maxim Mutabingwa wondered why there was no notice served to them if the prosecutors were not to show up.
“Today is not a public holiday, and we have no notice informing us about the prosecution’s absence,” Mutabingwa said. Is this not an abuse of court? They are wasting our time and the time of the court. Now, why are we here? How can a case be fixed for a hearing and the prosecution fail to show up and even fail to give us a notice? It seems they are getting back to their old tricks of delaying the matter. ”
But Chief Magistrate Aciro informed him that Kagezi Memorial Week is well known and there was no need for the prosecution to give them a special notice.
“This is something we all know, and I think the law council should have informed you about it,” she said. “The argument that today is not a public holiday is also weak; usually, judicial officers and lawyers go for workshops. I know you are aware of how things work in such situations.”
For some minutes, the defence lawyers and the magistrate engaged in an exchange, with each one defending their view on the matter at hand. To calm the situation, the magistrate reminded lawyer Mutabingwa that even if the prosecution side was present, the matter could not take off given the fact that one of the accused was not in court.
In any case, we can’t proceed. You are very aware that A4 (accused person number four, who is former commander of the Police Field Force Unit Kampala South ASP Karoli Isabirye) is not here, is he?” the magistrate asked. Without answering, lawyer Maxim Mutabingwa returned to his seat.
Shamim Nalule, another defence lawyer, informed the court that she had failed to trace him.
“As lawyers, we tried to locate him but failed,” Nalule told the court. “We are not aware whether he is in a hospital or prison. Even his surety has failed to trace him. But we shall continue to search for him. ”
The magistrate issued a criminal summons to ASP Karoli Isabirye and adjourned the case to June 15, this year.
Besides these criminal charges, Mwanje is also battling another civil case over the ownership of the land that hosts the church. Recently, the Principal Judge, Dr Flavian Zeija, set aside a judgement that had been based on the sale of the contented land to Mwanje, ordering a retrial of the case.
