State objects to bail for lawyer Mukisa murder suspect

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Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Director of Prosecutions has asked court to deny bail to the female suspect accused of killing City lawyer Ronnie Mukisa.

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

Led by Lt Alex Mukhwana, the prosecution on Tuesday told the General Court Martial (GCM) presided over by Brig. Gen Robert Freeman Mugabe that the suspect’s sureties presented were not substantial enough to warrant the applicant’s release on bail.

The applicant is Brenda Cathy Nalwoga, 29, currently incarcerated at Luzira Women's Prison.

Nalwoga is battling the charge alongside her husband, Robert Irama Kareodu, 50, both residents of Kisasi, 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 Kisasi, 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.

“The applicant did not prove that she has a permanent fixed place of abode within this court’s jurisdiction and as such, she is most likely to shift to an unknown destination once released on bail,” Mukhwana told court.

He added, “It is in the interest of justice that this honourable court does not grant the applicant bail because two witnesses have testified in the main case, as such temptations are high that the applicant will abscond once granted bail.”

Represented by Elizabeth Nyasingwa and Captain Simon Nsubuga Busagwa, Nalwoga is the second suspect among the six accused to seek bail after Irama, whose two attempts to have temporary freedom from the same court were all dismissed on grounds that he is a flight risk and will interfere with Police investigations, given his seniority in the Police Force.

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.

GCM chairman Mugabe adjourned the case to June 25, 2024, for ruling on the applicant’s bail application.

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.