Bailiffs remain on remand as Dodoviko, 15 others are granted bail

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Eight people who had been hired and subsequently arrested for demolishing St Peters Church, Ndeeba nearly broke into tears as the court granted bail to their contractor Dodoviko Mwanje and another co-accused persons.

The eight who include; Badru Ssekitto, Hamuza Kiberu, James Kisirinya, Abasa Mutebi, Ali Kalika, Simon Matovu and Andrew Matovu were the first to be arrested for the said demolition. They were subsequently arraigned in the court on August 13 and remanded to Kitalya prison.

On Wednesday afternoon, all accused persons appeared via video conference before Makindye Chief Magistrate Prossy Katushabe from Kitalya minimax prison following a bail application that had been submitted by lawyers on the last sitting saying the offences for which they are charged are bailable.

But whereas Dodoviko and the other persons applied for bail through their lawyers, the ‘hired gang’ is helplessly observing the proceeding from prison via video conferencing with many seemingly ignorant about the process.

Those who applied for bail included; city businessman Dodviko Mwanje, the KCCA acting director for physical planning Ivan Katongole, Ali Mukwaya, Giso Ndeeba, and the Field Force Unit-FFU Commander for the Kampala Metropolitan Police South region Martin Adero among other police officers.

The state represented by Nakato Lydia had objected to the application on grounds that the matter was in the public interest and that some of the accused might fail to report to the court. However, Katushabe over-ruled the the argument on grounds that there was no affidavit on the court file to substantiate the allegations.

Each of the accused executed a bond of  two million Shillings in cash while their sureties executed a non-cash bond of 100 million Shillings before the magistrate adjourned the matter to September 16 when the case will return to court for mention.

A total of 22 people are jointly accused of different charges including theft, disobedience of lawful orders, connivance to commit a felony and malicious damage all connected to the demolition of the St Peters Church. However, all of them have since denied the charges.

The Church in question was demolished on August 9 in the wee hours of the night. However, available documentation indicates that the act was a result of a court decision in a four-decade property wrangle between the Church of Uganda and the joint administrators of the estate of the late Evelyn Nachwa, a Buganda Kingdom Princess.

The paper trail also indicates that the court ruled on the matter of the ownership of the land in question noting that it had been fraudulently registered in the names of Bishop Danistan Nsubuga, Rev. Yuda Kitaka, and Esau Kizito, thus ordering the church to vacate.

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