Court Martial: Kitata guilty of unlawful possession of firearms

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The General Court Martial has found former Boda Boda 2010 patron Abdallah Kitata and two others guilty of unlawful possession of firearms.

Found guilty by the court are Kitata, his bodyguard Police Constable Ngobi Sowali and driver Ibrahim Sakajja. The court however set free set free the other suspects Joel Kibirige, Fred Bwanika, Amon Twinomujuni, John Ssebandeke, Hassan Ssebata, Matia Senfuka and Hussein Mugema.

Prosecution last month asked the General Court martial to convict the Boda Boda 2010 suspects for unlawful possession of fire arms and military stores, saying there is overwhelming evidence implicating them.

In its closing arguments, prosecution led by Lt. Col. Raphael Mugisha informed court that the four prosecution witnesses clearly indicated that the suspects were found in possession of 55 rounds of ammunition, two  pistols , Sub Machine Gun, military capes and uniforms.

The witnesses included Private Richard Kasaija, Corporal Richard Wanyama, a CMI detective attached to the Directorate of Counter Terrorism, Major David Agaba, the former operations Commander at CMI and Corporal Alex Baguma, the driver of the vehicle that picked up the suspects.

Mugisha criticized the defense assertion that the firearms found with Kitatta were signed by his body guard from the police armory, noting that there is no evidence to that effect.

Although the suspects presented Nickson Agasirwe, the former Commandant of the Police Special Investigations Unit-SIU to confirm that police armed the suspects, Mugisha said the witness was unreliable since he rose through the police ranks in unclear manner having joined in 2009.

He also explained that Agasirwe didn’t follow the right procedures while handing over the firearms to the suspects.

According to Police Standing Orders, a police officer acquires a firearm upon writing to the IGP with an attention note to the Director of Logistics, indicating the reasons for the request.

But the gun cannot be issued until the IGP sanctions the request with a written directive to the Director in Charge of Logistics. Agasirwe acted on a verbal order, according to his testimony.

Mugisha denied allegations by Kitata’s lawyers led by Shaban Sanywa that prosecution declined to produce the CCTV footage showing his arrest, saying they didn’t have interest in the said footage.

Background

The suspects were picked up between January, 19th and 21st, 2018 from various places in Rubaga Division in Kampala district for illegal possession of firearms and military stores.

Prosecution told court that the suspects were found in possession of UPDF head gears, uniforms, 55 live ammunition, two pistols and an SMG rifle. The uniforms were recovered from the Boda boda 2010 association offices in Wakaliga while the firearms were recovered from Kitatta’s vehicle at Vine Hotel.

The defense team presented its submissions in November 2018. The defense lawyers led by Shaban Sanywa told Court that the prosecution witnesses failed to connect the accused persons to the items recovered and place them at the scene of crime.

The prosecution witnesses included Private Richard Kasaija, one of the nine operative who was involved in the arrest of the suspects, Corporal Richard Wanyama, a CMI detective attached to the Directorate of Counter Terrorism, Major David Ababa, the former CMI Operations Commander and Corporal, Alex Baguma, the one who drove the vehicle that picked up the suspects.

Sanywa argued that had prosecution presented the Investigating Officer, maybe he would have guided court on whether or not Kitatta really touched the guns and whether they were functional or not. Sanywa also argued that the Investigating Officer would have told court whether he had access to Vine Hotel to establish whether the guns were recovered from there.

He further argued that the Investigating Officer would have been important in narrating the chain of the movement of the evidence, and how the Boda Boda 2010 offices were searched in the absence of the accused persons.

Sanywa also pointed to the testimony of Kasaija and Major Agaba, Baguma, all prosecution witnesses indicating that none of the suspects were picked up from the Boda Boda 2010 offices.

According to Sanywa, the rest of the accused persons were arrested from the way for obstruction officers on duty and assault, which is confirmed by Wanyama’s testimony.  He asked court to acquit his clients, saying that none of the witnesses told court that “I searched and recovered the pistols.”

He faulted the state for failing to present the officers who conducted the search and recovered the firearms. Court also heard that the search was illegally conducted, no search certificate was tabled before court and neither were the accused persons nor the owner of the premises present when the search was conducted.

The defense argued that prosecution led by Major Raphael Mugisha presented evidence in bad faith, arguing that it lacked independence since all witnesses involved in the matter were from the military.  The defense contends that neither the public who witnessed the arrest nor police or the owners of Vine Hotel were brought to testify against the accused persons.

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