Pastor jailed for being a nuisance

By Farooq Kasule, Anita Atuhaire and Michael Odeng

THE chairperson of Uganda Bus Owners Association (UBOA), pastor Fred Bahati has been remanded to Luzira Prison for being a nuisance.

It is alleged that Bahati attacked the Transport Licensing Board members (TLB) over the new transport guidelines issued by the board for public transport. It further alleged that he caused violence on the premises and issued death threats against the members.

The Nakawa Magistrates' Court grade one magistrate, Christine Nantege on Tuesday remanded the accused person to Luzira prison for failing to honor court summons issued on February 9, this year.

Bahati 37, a pastor from Light Temple Ministries International Church, Nsambya and a regular panelist on poverty eradication was charged with a nuisance contrary to section 160 of the Penal Code Act (PCA). The offence carries a maximum sentence of one year on conviction.

The court also heard that Bahati, a resident of Bunga, a city suburb also snubbed police summons that were issued on September 29, last year upon being granted bond. He was supposed to report to Jinja Road Police Station after every two weeks to know the status of investigations into the alleged crime.

"You were summoned by the officer in charge of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) to answer the charges preferred against you and you failed to turn up," Nantege said.

Although the accused person presented two sureties to stand for him, the trial magistrate declined to grant him bail on grounds that he may abscond court and interfere with police investigations.

Bahati snubbed police summons that were issued on September 29, last year upon being granted bond. Photo by Michael Odeng

The trial magistrate also remanded the suspect after the state prosecutor; Asimwe Kwezira rejected the bail application, saying she needs time to verify the authenticity of the documents presented by the sureties. The sureties were Doctor Robert Kagoda and his elder Brother James Kyomuhangi.

This was after the sureties presented Local Council Letters which bares stamps with different dates that showed little confidence of the document by the state.

Prosecution alleges that Bahati on September 25 2014, at TLB transport licensing board offices in Kampala district did an act not authorized by law and thereby causing annoyance, obstruction and inconvenience to the public in exercise of common rights.

The lawyer representing the accused, Saad Sseninde was angry with the magistrate for declining to grant the accused person bail.

"It is totally embarrassing for the magistrate to deny my client bail on a simple matter. I do not know where this magistrate trained from. She is biased," Sseninde lamented.

He added that the date issue was a result of the paints used when stamping the letters.

The trial magistrate adjourned the case to today (Wednesday) for the hearing of the case.