Tears as court releases murder suspect on bail

GULU - Relatives of a family of five people killed in a fire burst into wails after the prime suspect was released on bail.

The five - a man, his wife and three children - were burnt to death in a suspected arson attack at their home on the night of January 5 this year.

David Livingstone Lakony, 66, was arrested, charged and remanded in connection to the attack.

But a successful bail application at the Gulu High Court saw his released on a cash bail of sh1m on Wednesday and his five sureties were each bonded sh2m non-cash.

Gulu resident judge Vincent Okwanga's decision angered the bereaved family who were at court to hear the bail application verdict.

He pronounced that he decided to give the accused bail on grounds of his senior age and health - Lakony is diabetic and has hypertension.

The judge said the sureties presented in court were substantial enough to constitutionally grant the accused person bail.

Now out on bail, Lakony, who is the proprietor of Devitine Hotel in Gulu, will have to mandatorily reappear in court every last Friday of the month until court fixes a date for the hearing of the case.

He is accused of causing the death of a family of five in Koc-Goma sub-county in Nwoya district. The family died after their grass-thatched caught fire.

A land dispute has been cited as being at the centre of the deadly incident.