Abdallah Kitatta charged in army court

Jan 29, 2018

Kitatta, the patron of Bodaboda 2010, is charged alongside 12 others at the Court Martial.

CRIME

KAMPALA - The Rubaga Division National Resistance Movement (NRM) chairperson, Abdalla Kitatta, and 12 others have been charged with five cases, but four of them are criminal counts attracting a maximum sentence of death.

Kitatta is also the patron of Bodaboda 2010, an association of commercial motorcyclists that has reportedly been notorious for traumatising fellow mtorcyclists not subscribing to Bodaboda 2010.

The other dozen suspects that were charged on Monday are, Sowali Ngobi, Amon Twinomujuni, Joel Kibirige, Matia Ssenfuka, Hassan Ssebata, Johnson Kayondo, Sunday Ssemogerere, John Ssebandeke, Hussein Mugema, Fred Bwanika and Ibrahim Ssekaja.

Last week, a Military Court (Unit Disciplinary Committee) sitting at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) headquarters at Mbuya, Kampala produced the suspects for mention of charges labelled against them.

The 13 were arrested a week ago following the arrest  of Kitatta's brother Huzair Kiwalabye, whom CMI has since linked to the murder of Case Hospital's chief accountant, Francis Ekalungar.

According to a press statement issued by the defence spokesperson early Monday, "five charges were preferred against the accused persons, of which four are criminal offences of failure to protect war material while the other is unlawful possession of military arms".

A statement signed by Lt. Col Deo Akiiki, on behalf of the defence spokesperson, indicates that the offences are contrary to Section 122(1) and (2)(h) and (i) of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Act, 2005 and Section 161.

"The four criminal offences attract a maximum sentence of death while one attracts life imprisonment, respectively," said Akiiki.

He explained that the sentences are capital in nature and are not triable by a Unit Disciplinary Committee. However, the criminal procedure requires that a court without jurisdiction can only read the charges preferred and remand the accused but the suspect is not required to enter any plea.

"The above accused persons have been remanded to Kigo Prison until they will be produced before a competent court to enter their pleas," Akiiki says.

 

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