The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Buganda Road Magistrates Court has extended its criminal summons to the proprietor of Empowerment Christian Centre Church International, Pastor Franklin Mondo who is facing charges of fraud.
Court on Wednesday presided over by Grade One Magistrate, Gladys Kamasanyu extended the summons it had issued in December 2020 after being informed that Mondo is yet to recover from COVID-19.
Court heard from defence lawyer, Robert Rutaro that his client who tested positive for coronavirus late last month is still on treatment and therefore it’s prudent for him not to appear in court.
Rutaro added that although Mondo’s condition has improved, they advised him to first get a discharge certificate before he mixes with the public. Rutaro asked for an extension of the criminal summons and the State Attorney Elizabeth Nandala didn’t have objections to the request.
As a result, the magistrate adjourned the case to January 28, 2021, and extended the summons until then.
Pastor Mondo is jointly charged with two other pastors, Margaret Nakayima commonly known as Maggie Kayima (Nabbi Omukazi), Pastor Siraje Ssemanda and lawyer Jimmy Arinaitwe, the Director of Hands Across the World Initiative Uganda Limited. The trio has since last month been on remand in Kitalya and Kigo prisons on charges of obtaining money by false pretense and conspiring to commit fraud.
Although the prosecution alleges that the money involved in the fraud case is 4.5 Billion Shillings, for Pastor Mondo, it is alleged that him and others still at large falsely obtained more than one billion shillings from eleven people on different occasions.
This was reportedly done by pretending that their organization Hands Across the World Initiative Uganda Limited would construct churches for the pastors, houses for the needy, offer scholarships and educate the needy children in the community from whose parents the money was collected which was not true.
It is alleged that the money was collected from parents in places of Bombo Luweero, Tororo, Iganga, Kaliro and Kampala districts between 2014 and 2020.
Trouble for the accused started after their victims petitioned the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
Rutaro asked court that charges against all the accused persons be dismissed. This is because Nabbi Omukazi who is said to be accessories after the offence didn’t know that their co-accused were being hunted in regards to the offence in question.
However, the State Attorney strongly objected to this saying the law allows them to amend the charges at any time during proceedings and if the court finds that the charges are defective, they can amend the charge sheet instead of dismissing the charges.
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