The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Chief Magistrates Court has charged six accused with aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony. This is after the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, in partnership with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Kira Road Police Station, arraigned six suspects in court.
The suspects (currently the accused and on remand), identified as Julius Lukwago, Hussien Kato, Peter Okello, Umar Katerega, Hussien Ochen, and Godfrey Bahati, were arrested on January 5, 2024, by detectives working with the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, and on Monday, January 8, 2024, they were arraigned in court and subsequently remanded until February 1, 2024.
According to the statement released on January 8, 2024, the suspects were arrested on the night of January 5, 2024, after forcefully accessing the partially demolished family home of the late Eng. Johnson Eliba Orech while armed with machetes, violently attacking, and robbed one of the family members’ phones and money.
“It is alleged that the family home had earlier been illegally demolished without any court order after a similar attack by people acting on the instructions of Yusuf Ssemakula on December 26, 2022,” the statement read.
The statement noted that the officers at Kira Police Station were able to swiftly respond to a distress call made by another family member and apprehend the suspects, who revealed to the police that they had also been sent by Yusuf Ssemakula, who has been sighted in several similar cases of illegal evictions reported to the unit.
The statement further revealed that the incident was investigated by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and that the status quo was to be maintained pending the conclusion of court cases as to the ownership of the property.
In a similar case, on December 21, 2023, the court charged Joseph Ocen Alwang, a Senior Land Management Officer for Lira district, with allegations of fraudulently procuring a Certification of Title and Conspiracy to commit a felony. He was remanded until January 11, 2024.
On September 5, 2023, Hidaya Nassolo was arraigned before the Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court on charges of forgery and uttering a false document.
According to the law, anyone convicted under Section 11(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act may face a prison sentence of up to seven years and a fine not exceeding Ugx 5.3 million. Likewise, an individual found guilty under Section 190(1) for fraudulent procurement of a certificate of title could be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years.
