Kasese Chief Magistrate, Betty Ajok, has stepped down from a case where former Bukonzo East County MP Aprunalis Kithende Kalibogha is accused of trespassing on the land belonging to the Catholic Diocese.
According to court records in December 2022, while in Rwentutu village in Lake Sub County, Kasese district, Kalibogha together with others at large reportedly trespassed on Rwentutu land belonging to the diocese of Kasese.
Kalibogha is embroiled in land wrangles with the Church on properties he developed with a Swiss national, Eleanor Wismer.
But information indicates that Wismer, a devout Catholic, is said to have donated the properties to the Diocese of Kasese after disagreements with Kalibogha.
The Kasese Resident State Attorney, Geoffrey Oundo says Ajok cannot proceed with the hearing of the case on account that the lawyers for the accused have expressed displeasure with the manner she is handling the case.
Oundo said that Ajok has now written to the Deputy Registrar of Fort Portal High Court to allocate the case file to another judicial officer.
Kalibogha’s lawyer Sibendire Bigogo says that they are waiting for the decision of the High Court.
In 2019, Kithende was arrested for criminal trespass and malicious damage on Kithende Hostels Project, in Kasese Municipality. He was also accused of trespassing on the Church land in Rwentutu Village and threatening laborers in October 2018.
The charges stem from a complaint lodged by Rev Fr David Kiiza the Secretary for Lands in the Diocese of Kasese.
Kithende and his co-accused including Peter Kalibogha and Gideon Bahindi denied the charges and also applied for bail on grounds that they are responsible residents of Kasese with well-established businesses and of good repute.
