By Michael Odeng

 

KAMPALA - The hearing of a case in which the former vice-president, Gilbert Bukenya, is accused of unlawfully grabbing the wife of his former political mobiliser, Emmanuel Nyabayango has failed to take off at High Court, family division.

 

However, the High Court Judge Percy Tuhaise ruled that Bukenya should pay costs for wasting time for the six witnesses including Nyabayango who turned up to testify against him.

 

Without specifying how much Bukenya was to pay, justice Tuhaise said: “The defendants should pay costs for today because they failed to turn up and yet they were served with hearing notices”.

 

She said Bukenya’s lawyer even signed a copy of the hearing notice which was attached to the affidavit. An affidavit is a sworn formal written statement setting out the facts of the case.

 

When Saturday Vision contacted the plaintiff’s lawyer Ambrose Rukundo Tiishekwa, he said Bukenya would be required to pay about sh730,000.

 

On July 1, Tuhaise ruled that Bukenya had a case to answer and should, therefore, defend himself but neither Bukenya nor his lawyer turned up in court for the case.

 

Prior to the ruling, Bukenya through his lawyer had raised preliminary point of law when they sought to dismiss the case on grounds that a fresh case opened against Bukenya was illegal and lacks cause of action because Nyabayango had already been compensated.

 

In reply, Tiishekwa argued that his client was paid before going to court and a woman cannot be bought.

 

Nyabayango through his lawyer filed the case against Bukenya in July 17, 2012 accusing him of seducing his wife, Margaret Kabasinguzi.

 

He also claims that Bukenya has a child with his wife, saying it was “unconstitutional, barbaric, inhuman and unlawful.