Three village leaders accused of murder freed after nearly six years on remand

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LIRA - The High Court in Lira has set free three village leaders who had spent five years and nine months on remand for murder, after the State failed to produce a single witness in court.

Justice Sarah Birungi Kalibaala dismissed the case against Akuli village general secretary Nelson Oyuku, defence secretary Tonny Ocen and resident Jerom Angii, who had been accused of causing the death of livestock driver Moses Ekwaro in 2019.

When the case was called, state prosecutor Anthony Obonyo Jabwor admitted there were no witnesses present, saying efforts to serve those from Kwera sub-county in Dokolo district had proved futile. He asked for a short adjournment to allow more time.

Defence lawyer Winny Anyango opposed the request, stressing that this was the fourth time the case was coming up without witnesses.

“The accused have been in remand for nearly six years over an incident they tried to resolve as a community matter. It is unjust to keep them in prison when the prosecution cannot trace witnesses. This is a non-starter case. We pray it be dismissed for want of prosecution,” she argued.

Justice Kalibaala agreed, observing that the matter had been repeatedly mentioned in court without progress.

“The accused persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is the duty of the prosecution to find and produce witnesses. After all this time, they have not done so,” she ruled, dismissing the case but noting that the State retains the right to reinstate it should witnesses come forward.

Background

According to court documents, the case stemmed from events on September 27, 2019, in Akuli Village, Dokolo district. The trio were accused of assaulting Ekwaro, who had allegedly failed to deliver a goat entrusted to him and was suspected of selling it.

Local leaders reportedly confronted him at a trading centre bar, interrogated him, and later assaulted him. Witnesses said he was beaten by Oyuku and Ocen, while Angii was accused of striking him during the scuffle.

Ekwaro was later rushed to Kwera Health Centre III and then to Dokolo Health Centre IV, where he was pronounced dead. A post-mortem revealed severe injuries, including a ruptured kidney, fractured cervical vertebrae, and signs of haemorrhagic shock.

In their charge and caution statements, Oyuku and Ocen admitted handling the case of the missing goat but denied causing Ekwaro’s death.

Freedom

With no witnesses ever appearing in court across four mentions, the case crumbled. The three men, who had been behind bars since their arrest in 2019, were finally released.