Pine murder case flops

PIC: The proprietor of pine car deport on Lumumba Avenue Kampala, Muhammad Ssebuwufu, leaving the High Court after a hearing of the murder case against him and seven others. This was on February 5, 2018. (Lawrence Mulondo)

CRIME

KAMPALA - The hearing of the case in which pine car depot proprietor Muhammad Ssebuufu is accused of murdering businesswoman Betty Donah Katusabe has flopped.

On Monday, defence lawyers led by David Balondemu asked court for more time to study the prosecution evidence before the trial kicks off.

"We were served on Friday afternoon, we did not get time to liase with the accused because some of them are on remand.Therefore, we pray for an adjournment of two weeks," Balondemu said.

However, state attorney Winfred Ahimbisibwe, who teamed up with Alex Ajok, asked court to grant the adjournment on condition that the bail for accused is cancelled.

But Justice Flavia Anglin Senoga instead adjourned the case to Thursday when the hearing is slated to kick off.

Prosecution alleges that the accused and others still at large on October, 21, 2015, Kidnapped Katusabe, before beating her to death at pine car depot on Lumumba Avenue in Kampala over failure to remit a sh9m debt.

Katusabe was purportedly kidnapped from her residence in Bwebajja, off Entebbe Road.

Court documents indicate that the debt arose from a Toyota Premio which Ssebuufu sold to Katusabe at sh20m, but remained with a balance of sh9m, which she had failed to pay. 

However, in a bid to recover the money, they beat her to death.