Ndeeba Church demolition case hearing flops

KAMPALA - The hearing of a case in which businessman Dodoviko Mwanje and senior Police officers are accused of demolishing Ndeeba Church has hit a snag after the witness who was expected to testify against the accused reportedly lost a brother.

Chief state attorney Stanley Baine informed the court that Moses Orimi, the Scenes of Crime Officer (SOCO) attached to Katwe Police Station, lost his brother and had gone for the burial.

This prompted Chief Magistrate Racheal Nakyazze of the Anti-Corruption Court to adjourn the hearing of the case to tomorrow ( Thursday).

Mwanje and five others are accused of circumventing Regulation 28 (1) of the Building Regulations, 2020, and causing the demolition of St Peter's Church in Ndeeba, Kampala city.

They allegedly committed the offence between May 2020 and August 10, 2020, in and around Kampala district.

The other accused persons include Kampala Metropolitan area Field Force Unit (FFU) commander Rashid Agero, 59;  Kampala Metropolitan South FFU zonal commander Martin Odero; ASP Isabirye Kaloli, 33, attached to FFU, Katwe; AIP Anthony Kiro, and urban planner Ivan Katongole.

The accused are battling charges of abuse of office, corruption, conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor and theft.

Allegations

Dodoviko is accused of stealing assorted church items valued at approximately shillings 850 million, the property of the Church on August 10, 2020.

Prosecution alleges that the police officers on August 10, 2020, at Katwe Ndeeba gave protection to persons who unlawfully demolished St Peter's Church without authority and in disregard to superiors' orders to protect the church from demolition.

They also allegedly neglected to secure the church from demolition, which was their duty to perform by virtue of their employment as police officers and as directed by the Commissioner of Police, the Commandant of Kampala Metropolitan Police.

Meanwhile, Katongole, on July 28, 2020, at KCCA in Kampala, in abuse of the authority of their respective offices, allegedly processed, issued demolition, hoarding and scaffolding permits to Ephraim Enterprises Limited in contravention of the Building Control Act.