When sentencing Emmanuel Wilson Abura to 50 years imprisonment on murder charges, the Criminal Division of the High Court Judge Margaret Mutonyi stated that Court has observed that the convict was used his disability as a tool to attract sympathy yet behind his disability is a savagely fierce human being who needs to be kept out of circulation for some time to enable him to reflect on his life as a human being and work on his inner soul.

Abura was convicted for murdering a 9 year innocent girl because of the personal misunderstanding he had with her parents.

Exclusively speaking to theGrapevine, a senior prisons officer revealed that prisoners on remand have developed a favorable scheme in an effort to extricate capital offenders from likely severe sentences.

He narrates that capital offenders on remand have since adopted a strategy of duping courts of law and prompting them to order for the release of the purported complainants.

He added that the remorsefulness culture under the plea bargain process is currently being manipulated by capital offenders especially those who have over stayed on remand because they have mastered the skills of surmounting proportionate sentences to their offences.

“This strategy has been adopted by prisoners and unless courts undertake proactive engagement of prisons administrators, prisoners will continue to utilize the principle of non-interference during trial to evade justice,” he said.

The officer adds, “It is against this background that special acknowledgement is accorded to your effective chain linked criminal justice culture for having sought for investigations before quickly arriving at a conclusion”.

He revealed how Martin Nshimiyimaana a capital offender was released by the High Court at Mubende which based on complaints of torture that sparked an investigation into the alleged torture claims against prison officials at Kitalya prison.

Nshimiyimaana appeared in the media accusing the prison personnel of beating and forcing him into hard labour which weakened his body.

But a February 24, 2024 report indicates that after a comprehensive and thorough investigation, it was established that he was never tortured.

“The deduction from the investigation revealed two critical findings; the complainant’s past underlying backache challenges attributed to an accident he suffered in 2007, long before his admission to prison in 2019. Kitalya Farm prison capital offenders tested propitious scheme by a one Tonny Kiyimba from Masaka High Court,” the report reads in parts.

To the confirmation of Uganda Prisons Service position that Kiyimba had not been tortured, he returned to Masaka Main prison on January 29, 2024 perfectly walking on his two legs after being sentenced to caution on an account of having been tortured.

In a television interview, Kiyimba claimed that he was beaten to the extent of passing out blood from the back side forcing him to use rags to pad himself.

In 2017, Kiyimba was remanded to Masaka Prison on accusations of rape and defilement.

However he said that during his torture, he was made to sleep in water filled cells for two weeks which led to him getting infections.

Kiyimba narrated that in addition to being beaten, he was blocked from seeing his relatives and subjected to other abuses which amounted to torture.

Because of his condition, according to the video, Kiyimba was assisted by prison personnel to the court leading to his release despite pleading guilty to the offences.

When contacted, Frank Baine, the Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson said that while prisons are awash with social media reports, there are facts to the effect that there is no torture.

He suggested that the Justice law and Order Sector partners should not be hoodwinked by mere claims but instead should contact the stakeholders and also carry out fact finding.

“These are emotional set ups targeting those presiding over the cases. They make decisions without consulting us. Those accusations are isolated cases and we have always tried to engage the judicial officers to explain the circumstances but sometimes it is too late to reverse their decisions,” He said.

According to the report, Uganda prisons service remains a fervent promoter of prisoners’ human rights and as a known standard, any errant Prison officer of any category who violates prisoners’ rights is personally held liable.

“The Service has established an effective internal human rights promotion and protection mechanisms such as prisoners’ human rights committees in all prisons, staff human rights committees, human rights awareness campaigns, internal inspections and regular external inspections by Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) and a number of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) have continued to receive our support and cooperation,” the report adds.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

The mighty Grapevine has exclusively learnt that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Councilors led by Ivan Mubiru who represents Busega have kicked off the process of impeaching troubled KCCA District Land Board chairperson David Balondemu.

Mubiru has started collecting signatures of fellow councilors which are going to support their petition before the council meeting which is expected to take place before the end of this month.

Mubiru accuses Balondemu of abusing the public office he holds.

He explains that since 2021, Balondemu has never presented any annual report to the council as required.

Mubiru quoted Dr. Sam Mayanja the Lands Junior Minister’s guidance to all land boards on why they are supposed to present annual reports to their respective local councils which Balondemu failed to do.

He added that the unending criminal charges placed on Balondemu also put the public office he holds in bad light insisting that a council resolution has to be push Balondemu out until he has fullky answered to and has been exonerated of all criminal charges slapped on him.

“People cannot have confidence in a person accused of masterminding a multibillion fraud. The land office is about trust so Balodemu has to leave that office,” Mubiru told fellow councilors at city hall.

theGrapevine tried to get a comment from Balondemu but all his known phone numbers were not going through.

The development of impeaching him comes at a time when he is expected to appear before Buganda Road Court to answer fresh criminal charges related to forgery.

State House Anti-Corruption Unity together with police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) claims that Balondemu together with others still at large forged medical documents from Kampala Hospital which they produced before Buganda Road Court to secure Court bail for him.

Dr. Peter Kibuka the hospital Chief Executive Officer told Court that the said documents that showed that Balondemu was going to be subjected to a medical operation were not issued by his hospital and thus declared them as forgeries. Balondemu is also still battling with fraud charges for allegedly obtaining Shs.2.2 billion from an investor.

It’s alleged that KG Unlimited LLC, an American Company, was defrauded of Shs2.2bn in a purported deal to procure a water plant by the Ministry of Agriculture.

State claims that Balondemu supposed that the Public Procurement Disposal Authority was conducting the procurement on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture.

All the money was paid through an account of M/s Bloom Advocates, a law firm where he is a founding partner.

There are other multimillion fraud cases implicating Balondemu and investigations have been completed and the files have been forwarded to Justice Jane Frances Abodo’s DPP for sanctioning.

However, Balondemu recently petitioned President Museveni claiming that he is being witch hunted by State House Anti-Corruption Unit officials because he declined to give them a bribe which they wanted to set him free.

The Unit rubbished the allegations and explained that Balondemu, a flamboyant city lawyer was trying to divert them from the ongoing criminal investigations against him.

By Hadijjah Namagembe

The no nonsense Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director Maj. Dr. Tom Magambo has directed a forensic investigation into allegation that Martin Ocheng the proprietor of the controversial Ebenezer Real Estate, Mukono Police Officers, Officer from Justice Jane Frances Abodo’s  Director of Public Prosecution(DPP) and Officers from the Ministry of Lands participated and influenced the manufacturing of forged documents which were used to grab land at Natabulirirwa in Mukono district.

Highly placed sources at Kibuli based CID headquarters told theGrapevine that Maj. Magambo’s directive comes after a one Josephine Nakandi, a resident of Nabuti Mukono district filed a complaint to his office.

In her complaint seen by theGrapevine, Nakandi claims that between 2013-14, she entered into a land transaction with one Rashid Kabuye who is a land dealer in Mukono district to sell her two pieces of land measuring 3 acres.

She explained that she paid over Shs600m to Kabuye in installment because he told her that he needs money to transfer the said land from the names of Luwangula Estate into his names then after she will transfer the land into her names.

She narrated that Kabuye first took her to his lawyer a one Phillip Mukhembo of Wameri and Company Advocates who assured her that he was the one handling the transfer of the land title which was still registered in the names of the late Prince Alexander Ssimbwa, a son to fallen Buganda Kingdom King Sir Daudi Chwa.

She added that because she wanted to confirm the ownership of the land, she asked Mukhembo and Kabuye to take her to Prince Ssimbwa.

She was taken to his residence in Kabowa Lubaga Division Kampala City and he confirmed ownership of the land.

Nakandi told police detectives that Prince Ssimbwa assured her that he had sold the land to Kabuye and Mukhembo and even gave them the land titles to transfer the land on Kyaggwe Block 113 plot 2400 and another piece on Kyaggwe Block 113 Plot 2401.

She stated that in 2021, Kabuye made called her directing her to go to his surveyor a one Bwete in Mukono to sign the transfer form so that the process of transfering the said land into her name kicks off.

Nakandi explained that after signing the transfer forms, she started looking for money to pay the government tax and other requirements in the Ministry of Lands but in the middle of the process, she received a phone call from one of the neighbours close to the land informing her that there were people who were grading her land.

She immediately rushed to the piece of land and found body built men providing security to the man who was driving the tractor that was grading the land.

When she asked them why they were grading her land, they told her that the land belongs to Ebenezer Real Estate.

She reported the matter to the area chairperson who witnessed the signing of the agreement who advised her to report the matter to Mukono police station.

At Mukono police station, she was given policemen who stormed the area and arrested all the suspects including the tractor driven.

The suspects were taken to Mukono police station.

She recorded a statement and her complaint was registered on File Number CRB 458/23. She was also told that the suspects are also going to record statements on charges of criminal trespass, forceful entry onto her land and malicious damage because the tractor demolished the house she had built on the land.

She narrated that the morning next day, she went to police to meet the Investigating Officer a one Grace Alubo who informed her that the suspects were released on the directive of the DPC on police bond and were ordered to report back as investigations continue.

She said that she went to the Ministry of Lands to carry out a search to see whether the land title was still registered in the names of Luwangula Estate.

Once her search was positive, and she transferred the land into her name, Alubo called her asking her to report to Mukono police station because she wanted her to record an extra police statement.

Because she was attending a function, she pleaded with her to allow her to come the next day which she accepted.

She explained that when she reported to police, Alubo directed her to remove her shoes and other metals on her body and ordered her to enter the police cell.

After 30 minutes, Alubo came and ordered her out of the cell and she was taken to record a statement where she was informed of charges of uttering false documents and forgery.

She declined to record the statement in the absence of her lawyers. She was allowed to make a phone call to her lawyer.

When her lawyer came, he assisted her to record the statement and asked for a police bond but Alubo told her that her matter was beyond her.

She spent the entire weekend in the police cells and on Monday she was taken to Mukono Chief Magistrate Court, charged and remanded to Kawuga government prison where she spent a week. She was later released on a court bail.

She went back to do a search because she was very sure that the reason why she was imprisoned was to give Ebenezer tycoon a chance to fraudulently transfer her land into his company’s name because according to the charge-sheet, she was accused of uttering false documents and forging documents she used to transfer the said land into her names.

The search established that the land was already transferred into Ebenezer Real Estate names and they had started subdividing the land into small plots for sale.

Nakandi claims that Ocheng told police that he bought the land from Kabuye and he advises her to talk to Kabuye so that they sort themselves out otherwise he is not ready to surrender his land to her.

When contacted, Kabuye denied having sold the land to Ocheng insisting that he sold the said land to Nakandi and he is ready to testify in Court.

Sources at Kibuli based CID headquarters told theGrapevine that Maj. Dr. Magambo directed Kampala Metropolitan East CID department to revisit all the files opened over the said matter and establish the truth.

We exclusively established that Ocheng was summoned to police and Nakandi was also summoned to record fresh statements including Mukono police officers who are implicated in the commission of the crime.

Even though Alubo who was the Investigating Officer was transferred to Kayunga district, she was also summoned.

We have been reliably informed that Brig. Gen. Moses Lukyamuzi of the State House Presidential Taskforce on Land Matters and Environment and Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit are also investigating the same crime because Nakandi pleaded with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to intervene.

Since Saturday last week, theGrapevine has been making frequent phone calls to Ocheng to comment on the allegations but he was not responding and on Thursday, he started making our phone calls busy.

By Sengooba Alirabaki