Baby murder suspects get bail
Jun 29, 2011
THREE family members from Bukoto in Kampala, who allegedly murdered a baby last December and dumped the body on the Bukoto Northern Bypass, have been freed on bail.
By Andante Okanya
THREE family members from Bukoto in Kampala, who allegedly murdered a baby last December and dumped the body on the Bukoto Northern Bypass, have been freed on bail.
Hajji Suleiman Ssessolo, his wife, Zikula Nabukenya, and his son, Bashir Ssessolo, were freed from Luzira Prison on a non-cash bail of sh1m each by the Kampala City Hall Court Grade Two Magistrate James Wambeya.
Their six sureties, comprising family and friends, were bonded at sh6m each (not cash).
Prosecution told court that the three, with others still at large, on December 8 last year murdered a child whose gender remains unknown at the Bukoto Northern Bypass flyover.
The three had been on remand at Luzira Prison since December 30 last year.
The magistrate accepted their bail application, noting that they had spent the requisite 180 days on remand (six months).
He also said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had not written their indictment report for trial at the High Court.
“The Constitution is clear. If an accused spends six months on remand, he or she is entitled to court bond if there are no committal papers presented by the DPP,†Wambeya said.
The state prosecutor, Joyce Tushabe, had earlier protested their release, arguing that investigations were in their final stages.
She wanted an adjournment for them to be further remanded to enable her prepare the committal papers.
But the magistrate did not relent and adjourned proceedings until July 21.
The trio was not represented by a lawyer. Murder is a capital offence and can only be tried by the High Court.
According to Suleiman Mpiima, a Bukoto local council official, the remains of the baby, which included a head, bones, intestines and legs, were dumped early in the morning of the day of the alleged murder.
They were placed at the roadside just a few meters away from Ssessolo’s residence. A woman’s night dress was found next to the remains with other bloodstained clothes. It is still not clear whether the child was a victim of a ritual murder.
Residents had suspected that the child could have been mauled by stray dogs, but a Police sniffer dog led detectives to Ssesolo’s residence.
A thorough search of Ssesolo’s premises revealed some blood-stained furniture, but Ssessolo claimed its source was from an animal slaughtered during the Idd Aduha festival.
THREE family members from Bukoto in Kampala, who allegedly murdered a baby last December and dumped the body on the Bukoto Northern Bypass, have been freed on bail.
Hajji Suleiman Ssessolo, his wife, Zikula Nabukenya, and his son, Bashir Ssessolo, were freed from Luzira Prison on a non-cash bail of sh1m each by the Kampala City Hall Court Grade Two Magistrate James Wambeya.
Their six sureties, comprising family and friends, were bonded at sh6m each (not cash).
Prosecution told court that the three, with others still at large, on December 8 last year murdered a child whose gender remains unknown at the Bukoto Northern Bypass flyover.
The three had been on remand at Luzira Prison since December 30 last year.
The magistrate accepted their bail application, noting that they had spent the requisite 180 days on remand (six months).
He also said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had not written their indictment report for trial at the High Court.
“The Constitution is clear. If an accused spends six months on remand, he or she is entitled to court bond if there are no committal papers presented by the DPP,†Wambeya said.
The state prosecutor, Joyce Tushabe, had earlier protested their release, arguing that investigations were in their final stages.
She wanted an adjournment for them to be further remanded to enable her prepare the committal papers.
But the magistrate did not relent and adjourned proceedings until July 21.
The trio was not represented by a lawyer. Murder is a capital offence and can only be tried by the High Court.
According to Suleiman Mpiima, a Bukoto local council official, the remains of the baby, which included a head, bones, intestines and legs, were dumped early in the morning of the day of the alleged murder.
They were placed at the roadside just a few meters away from Ssessolo’s residence. A woman’s night dress was found next to the remains with other bloodstained clothes. It is still not clear whether the child was a victim of a ritual murder.
Residents had suspected that the child could have been mauled by stray dogs, but a Police sniffer dog led detectives to Ssesolo’s residence.
A thorough search of Ssesolo’s premises revealed some blood-stained furniture, but Ssessolo claimed its source was from an animal slaughtered during the Idd Aduha festival.