By UJA Team
The Nakawa Chief Magistrate Court has been furnished with the information by the senior state attorney Richard Birivumbuka that the Ugandan prominent businessman Abu Mukasa is the complainant against journalist Richard Wanambwa who has been kept in jail for more than two months.
According to Birivumbuka, Abu Mukasa is jointly complaining with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Juma Makhtoum from the UAE against Wanambwa who owns the Eagle online site.
The charge sheet presented to Court by Birivumbuka an attorney to the state and the complainants shows that, Wanambwa and others at large, between July and September 2024 within Kampala district or there about with threats to publish malicious information about Abubker Mukasa Muyunga , demanded and received USD 50,000 from Alexander Kibandama, thus facing the charges of demanding property with menaces contrary to section 273 of the Penal Code Act cap 128.
The charge sheet is also partly placing a charge of hate speech against Wanambwa that was allegedly committed against Sheikh Mohammed Makhtoum. Other offenses against the journalist is demanding property by written threats against Abu Mukasa Muyunga, contrary to section 270 of the Penal code Act cap 128, as reflected by the 72 million shillings payment from Fisher Kasule.
The accused person pleaded not guilty to all the preferred charges . Those allegations are in relation to the stories that were published against Vitol fuel trading Company.
However, the documentary evidence seen by the Uganda Journalists Association legal team seem to pose a great challenge on allegations and claims of extortion fronted against the journalist..
Documents shows that the jailed journalist had rather been contracted by the said complainants to help them with Public Relations enhancement through his online media company (channel) known to them and other media channels for other players.
The Uganda Journalists Association had committed to advocate for Wanambwa until he regains his freedom. We are to that effect providing the legal aid together with the Human Rights Network for Journalists to Wanambwa in ensuring that he is released from jail.
New nine charges were slapped on journalist Wanambwa by the state when the matter came up for mention in Court on January 29th .These charges gained placement after state attorney Birivumbuka applied for amendment of the initial charge sheet. Two more other files containing similar counts were opened in two other different Courts under the Nakawa Chief Magistrate Court.
Journalist Lawyer Accuses State Attorney Birivumbuka of Persecution.
Tuesday 11 February 2025, Court session was held once again in anticipation of the trial for the accused journalist but also his defence lawyers filing bail application for his release. The state was equally expected to have completed the investigation into the ongoing case.
However, on his appearance before Court, the state lawyer Birivumbuka prayed for a further adjournment that inquiries into the matter were still going on.
To the journalist’s defense lawyers, this was a well-orchestrated plan by Birivumbuka to persecute further the journalist who has been held in detention for more than two months.
One of the journalist defense lawyers Michael Akampulira pinned Birivumbuka for taking this matter personal when he took over the Court’s role of releasing any accused person on bailable offences on its bond as opposed to the tenets of the law, which provoked Birivumbuka in paranoia and went in a quarrel saying he was being bullied by his senior colleague, but Akampulira in response cautioned his junior colleague from playing diversions.
Akampulira accused Birivumbuka of duplicating the new charges as they appear on files different before Courts. He faulted the practice of first arresting the suspects and place them in Court before completion of inquiries, which should be discouraged by Court.
Citing section 75 of the Magistrate Court Act that allows Court to release any accused person on its bond while applying for the journalist’s release on bail, Akampilira said it was within the same Court’s mandate to release Wanambwa, considering that he has been held in detention for more than 2 months without trial.
He added that bail is a constitutional right to the accused person, and therefore he should not have been held in detention for even two days. The journalist’s defence lawyer prayed for consideration of their bail application that substantial sureties were also available if Court inclined to provide sureties.
Court set Thursday 13 February to consider the bail application.
