Pig protest: Court orders prosecution to produce witnesses

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Two men from a group calling themselves “jobless youth” in trouble for dropping piglets near parliament could walk scot-free should the prosecution fail to produce its witnesses, the Buganda Road Court magistrate has warned. Luta Ferdinand and Joseph Lukwago were dragged before the Buganda Road Grade one Magistrate, Marion Mangeni in 2016 on charges of being a common nuisance and cruelty to animals.

According to Court documents, in September 2016, the duo together with others still at large while on Kimathi Avenue in Kampala, dropped eight yellow and blue piglets at Parliament with the names of legislators tied around their necks protesting the more than Shillings 100 million allocated to each MP for the purchase of a vehicle.

The protest was reportedly meant to portray the MPs as greedy. The two were picked by police and charged with being a common nuisance and cruelty to animals. However, their case has dragged on since then, a thing the defense lawyer, Isaac Semakadde blames of the prosecution.

On Friday, Semakadde accused the State Prosecutor, Elizabeth Nandala for skipping the trial of the suspects out of shame. He told Court that Nandala asked her friend, Sham Nalule to represent her to avoid embarrassment in Court.

Semakadde lost his cool after Nalule informed court that Nandala was away doing examinations. She also told court that they had planned to present a Police Commander she didn’t name, but said that he couldn’t make it because he was away on state duties and asked for an adjournment.

However, this didn’t go down well with Semakadde. He accused the prosecution of failing to present witnesses to testify against his clients despite numerous directives by Court. According to Semakadde, the prosecution has failed to give Court any satisfactory explanation on its failure to present the witnesses.

Earlier on the state had indicated that it will present four witnesses to testify in the matter. However, to only Sergeant Ken Engoma from Kampala Central Police Station testified against the suspects in 2017. Nalule couldn’t take Semakadde’s accusations lying down. She told court that Semakadde failed to present his clients in court on February 19th and March 13, 2018.

She also claimed that when one of the suspects appears the other doesn’t show up, which has partly stalled the trial. In her ruling the Buganda Road Grade one Magistrate, Marion Mangeni blamed both parties for stalling the case and directed the prosecution to present its witness or else she throws out the case. She adjourned the matter to May 29th, 2018.

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