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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Makindye Chief Magistrates Court has granted bail to musician Patrick Mulwana commonly known as Alien Skin and his bodyguard Julius Mugabi on charges of causing grievous harm to St Francis Hospital Doctors.
The Court presided over by Chief Magistrate Esther Adikin on Thursday granted them bail after establishing that they had presented substantial sureties including their relatives and that there were no serious objections to their applications.
They were then each asked to pay 1 million shillings in cash and each of their sureties 5 million Shillings not cash.
Alien Skin was also granted bail on the file involving the robbery of an iPhone at 1 million shillings cash and sureties 3 million shillings not cash.
The Magistrate also barred them from leaving the country without the express permission of the court and warned them from any interference with the victims or their workplace whether verbally or through social media platforms.
Adikin said such attacks if proved shall lead to automatic cancellation of bail.
In her ruling, Magistrate Adikin noted that both the defence and prosecution had informed the court of a possible settlement of the matter through reconciliation.
She acknowledged that the complainants had also recorded additional statements and submitted them before the court.
However, considering the development, the Magistrate advised the complainants to liaise with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for possible withdrawal of the case under the provisions of Section 21 of the Magistrates Act if they are no longer interested in it. Adikin noted that she is unable to allow reconciliation given the provisions of the law and the procedure on matters regarding reconciliation.
She adjourned the matter up to January 13th for mention. Earlier, hundreds of Alien Skin’s fans flocked court to show solidarity with the singer. When he was granted bail, his fans started dancing and chanting his name while others were blowing Vuvuzelas.
The prosecution alleges that Mugabi Alien Skin and others still at large on November 19th 2024 at St Francis Nsambya Hospital Makindye Division in Kampala District unlawfully did grievous harm to Dr Zaidi Matovu, Alex Odongo and Anthony Munyanda.
Both denied the charges and asked to be released on bail citing constitutional rights and the fact that they are innocent and have never been convicted. They also informed the court that they have substantial sureties including their relatives. Among the sureties for Alien Skin was his mother Juliet Nanyanzi.
However, State Prosecutors objected to their bail applications on the basis that Alien Skin being the leader of the Fangone Entertainment crew might interfere with the arrest of 18 others who are still at large yet investigations are still ongoing.
The prosecutors further indicated that there were discrepancies in the documents presented by the sureties regarding places of residence. The court heard that the sureties had Local Council One documents showing places of residence which were not tally with those written on their respective National Identity Cards.
It’s against this background that the Prosecution has been overruled and bail granted to the accused persons.
Trouble for Alien Skin started when he went to Nsambya Hospital and caused chaos that resulted in the assault of two doctors and a security guard.
The incident stemmed from the death of Joram Tumwesigye, a member of Fangone Entertainment.
Police reports indicate that Tumwesigye died about an hour after being admitted to the hospital following a car accident in Makindye.
Last week, Chief Magistrate Esther Adikin charged Alien with one count of robbery related to an incident in September before charges of harming Nsambya Hospital Doctors could be levied against him in a separate file.
Prosecutors allege that in September 2024, at Makindye Division in Kampala district, Alien robbed Mubiru Salim of an iPhone 15 Pro valued at Shs 3.5 million, cash amounting to Shs 480,000, and a wallet containing personal documents, including a national identification card. It is further alleged that he used actual violence against Mubiru during or immediately after the robbery.
Alien denied the charges and was remanded until December 9th 2024 as investigations continue. However, a production warrant was later issued to have him produced in Court before that day could reach.
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