Army court grants bail to lawyer Mukisa murder suspect

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The General Court Martial (GCM) chaired by Brig. Gen. Freeman Mugabe has granted bail to Brenda Cathy Nalwoga, one of the six suspects accused of murdering City lawyer Ronnie Mukisa.

Mukisa was tragically gunned down on May 30 at 11:00 pm while at his home in Kitiko-Birongo, Ndejje division, Wakiso district.

Appearing before the GCM on Tuesday (June 25, 2024) at Makindye in Kampala, Nalwoga, 29, the only female defendant in the case could not hold back her tears after the court ruled that her sureties were substantial and that the offence was bailable.

“This court finds that the applicant, Nalwoga, has been on remand since July 3, 2023, arraigned substantial sureties, has a fixed place of abode within this court’s jurisdiction, and, therefore, finds merit in the bail application,” Gen. Mugabe ruled.

He ordered, “You are, however, bonded sh5m, cash, and each of your sureties at shillings 15m, not cash. You are not supposed to go beyond Kampala and Wakiso district, and you will report to this court’s registrar twice a month on Friday every 14 days.”

He further told the applicant that failure to report to the court when and wherever required or adhere to the court’s bail terms would lead to the automatic cancellation of her bail.

Nalwoga’s sureties included her grandfather Yowasi Kizza Kitungulu, Christine Nakitende, her grandmother, Juliet Nakintu, her mother and businesswoman and her elder brother Derrick Muyanja Ssenyonga, a medical officer.

The applicant’s lawyer Captain Simon Nsubuga Busagwa who stood in for Elizabeth Nyasingwa, welcomed the court ruling, saying “Justice has prevailed.”

Nalwoga is battling murder charges alongside her boyfriend, Robert Irama Kareodu, 50, (the prime suspect) both residents of Kisaasi, and Superintendent of Police Vincent Irama Urri, 45, whom the GCM has denied bail twice, on grounds that he will interfere with state investigations.

Others are army officers Corporal Geoffrey Mark Anyesa, 51, a resident of Kisaasi-Kulambiro, in Nakawa Division in Kampala; Sergeant Rashid Ayup Okot, 33, aboding at Kafunda Kazo, Nabweru in Nansana Municipality, Wakiso district, and Mzee Josebert Hayeza, 51.

Under the law, murder contravenes sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 120, and carries a maximum sentence, which is death, upon conviction.

Before the bail ruling, the prosecution led by Col Raphael Mugisha, Captain Ambroz Guma, and Lt Alex Mukhwana had objected to the same, arguing that the suspect’s sureties presented were not substantial enough to warrant her release on bail, an assertion the court overruled.

The prosecution alleges that Irama, Anyase, Ayubu, Hayeza, Kareodu, and Nalwoga on or around May 30, 2023, at about 2300 hours at Katiko in Wakiso district, with malice aforethought, unlawfully caused the death of Mukisa.