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The Nateete/Rubaga Magistrate’s Court has postponed to May 10, 2024, the hearing of the case in which nine men are accused of defaming Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral.

On Monday, when the case came up for cross-examination, Principal Grade One Magistrate Adams Byarugaba informed the defence lawyers that Chief State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya was attending the annual Prosecutors Symposium.

This prompted the magistrate to adjourn the case to May 10, 2024, for cross-examination.

The defence lawyers are Humphrey Tumwesigye, Robert Ojambo and Bernard Mugenyi.

Last week, the court heard that the six men, who are part of the nine men accused of defaming Pastor Kayanja, received all their salary arrears while working for him.

Appearing as the tenth prosecution witness on Friday, Frederick Kisitu, a paymaster at Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral, told the court that the six were paid all their salaries.

Kisitu tendered documents before the as proof that payment was effected.

Muwaganya asked the court to admit the documents as proof that salaries were paid to Martins Kagolo, Alex Wakamala, Reagan Ssentongo, Peter Serugo, Khalifa Labeeb, and Moses Tumwine.

The six worked on Kayanja’s farm in Kiryandongo district and at the church in Rubaga, Kampala. However, they claimed they were never paid their salaries before they were shown the door. Others accused are Jamil Mwanda, Aggrey Kanene and Israel Wasswa.

However, defence lawyers Tumwesigye, Ojambo and Mugenyi objected to the admission of the documents as exhibits because the original and the duplicate have different months of issue.

Tumwesigye noted that the original document was issued on September 2, 2021, while the duplicate showed that it was issued on August 2, 2021.

The duplicate was also not counter-signed to show that there was an error.

Byarugaba said the documents would be used for identification and not as exhibits.

He said besides the absence of counter-signing by the parties and having different months of issue, new words were introduced in the document.

“This court rejects to admit the documents as prosecution exhibits and the same shall be admitted as identification documents,” Byarugaba ruled.

During Kisitu's testimony under the guidance of Muwaganya, the 35-year-old paymaster Kisitu told the court that he first saw Kagolo, Wakamala, Ssentongo, Serugo, Labeeb and Tumwine around 2016.

They had come to the church to give testimony that they were part of the Kifeesi gang terrorising Kampala and had decided to get born again.

“After giving their testimonies, Pastor Kayanja asked them what they could do because he wanted to rehabilitate them. Some were taken back to school, like Ssentongo, but they dropped out.

“Around November 2017, they were taken to Police Training School Kabalye in Masindi district as part of the rehabilitation process. After the training, some of them were taken to our farm in Kiryandongo as security guards and were entitled to a monthly payment and housing allowances,” Kisitu said.

He said the accused asked Kayanja to keep their money so that it could be given to them in a lump sum on exit.

“In December 2020, they requested their salaries. Pr Kayanja told them that since it was during the COVID-19 period, he would pay two of them per week.

In the first week, I paid two of them but there were some challenges and we told them to be patient,” Kisitu said.

Three months later, Kisitu said they received complaints from the neighbours that some of them had become a problem.

“Pastor Kayanja convened a meeting and we were told that Serugo had fired bullets in the neighbour’s house and he was suspended.

They later abandoned the farm and came to Kampala. Pr Kayanja called me and told me to pay them. I paid them but they were never allowed back on the farm because of their conduct,” Kisitu said.

He said the payments were done in instalments through mobile money. On other occasions they would sign in the books at the church.

Asked whether that was the first time to hear of the allegations, Kisitu said it was not the first time.

On why they made the allegations, Kisitu said: “I think they wanted their salaries because some of them informed me about this blackmail.” Kisitu told the court that he completed paying all the accused persons of their balances on August 2, 2021, at the church in Rubaga. 

“We made a document indicating that everyone received his salary and they all signed,” he said.

The charges

The accused, save for Israel Wasswa, are charged with criminal trespass and giving false information against Pr Robert Kayanja.

Under section 302 of the Penal Code Act, a person convicted of criminal trespass is liable to imprisonment for one year, giving false information is contrary to section 115 of the Penal Code Act and is punishable with imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.

Wasswa is charged with two counts of conspiracy to defeat justice and conspiracy to commit a felony after he allegedly falsely accused Kayanja of unnatural offences.

The offence of conspiracy to defeat justice violates section 103(a) of the Penal Code Act.

Upon conviction, the offence attracts a maximum penalty of five years in jail, while conspiracy to commit a felony attracts a sentence of seven years.

Regarding criminal trespass, the prosecution alleges that the accused persons, and others still at large, went to Rubaga Miracle Centre on September 17, 2021, intending to insult and annoy Pr Kayanja.

The prosecution further alleges that the accused, and others still at large, at Kawempe Police Station in Kampala, gave Detective Inspector of Police Cotilda Nandutu information that Kayanja had sodomised them, which they knew was false.