Pakistani rape suspects' case for April 23
Mar 18, 2014
Clad in jeans and t-shirts, Ahmad Shahbaz and Muhammad Wagas sat in the front row of City Hall Court room yesterday, occasionally glancing and peering over their shoulders.
By Taddeo Bwambale
Clad in jeans and t-shirts, Ahmad Shahbaz and Muhammad Wagas sat in the front row of City Hall Court room yesterday, occasionally glancing and peering over their shoulders.
Around them a horde of lawyers, activists, onlookers and fellow suspects hang around the packed room, waiting for the court session to start.
Ahmad and Wagas are Pakistani nationals among four men accused of gang-raping a 23-year-old Ugandan house-help last year. Two suspects are on the run.
The case was coming up for mention, with update on the status of the investigations by Police.
State Attorney, Grace Tushabe informed court presided over by Grade One Magistrate, Juliet Hatanga that the investigations were not yet complete.
At 12:00pm, after a brief session, the Magistrate adjourned the case to April 23 and the suspects were sent on remand to Luzira Prison.
For a case that elicited public uproar last year, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) will have to sift through evidence against the four suspects charged with gang rape and sodomy.
Prosecution alleges that Ahmad, Wagas and two accomplices identified as Zaheer Muhammed and Sadiq Muhammad, performed a sexual act against the order of nature and committed gang-rape to the prejudice of the alleged victim.
A warrant of arrest was issued for the other two suspects on the run.
The offence was allegedly committed between December, 2012 and July, 2013 at the suspect’s home in Kiwatule, a Kampala suburb.
The victim was working for the men as a house help at the time of the rape, which reportedly occurred in July.
The victim’s health condition deteriorated and her attempts to seek justice through Police were fraught with controversy.
Her health condition has since improved, with the help of several organisations and activists who have vowed to follow the case to its conclusion.