By Mulengera Reporters
Intervention by boda riders operating in Kisengye trading centre in Kayanja Sub County Kibale district enabled Police and area LC1 officials to arrest 25-year-old Sadick Sibaminya who had held himself as a telecom engineer and gained unauthorized access to the telecom tower site belonging to American Tower Corporation (ATC).
Upon gaining access, Sibaminya (who was arrested on 7th March and has since been remanded to Luzira prison upon being put on trial at the Makindye-based Utilities Court) allegedly stole telecom equipment including a radio remote unit (valued at Shs10m), communication cables; earth bars and earth wires both of which are used in protecting the site against lightening incidents.
At the Makindye Court, where he is being prosecuted by state or government lawyers from UCC, Sibaminya is facing three counts namely tampering/damaging telecommunication installations (contrary to S84(1)(b) of Uganda Communications Act), theft (contrary to S237(1) of the Penal Code Act) and criminal trespass onto the ATC property.
Her Worship Alice Adong Molly is the Magistrate trying the accused person. During the Tuesday court session, Sibaminya was overwhelmed by the UCC evidence and admitted to the trespass offence. The Magistrate wasted no time; she convicted and sentenced him to a jail term of 12 months and the few weeks he has been on remand are to be deducted.
Trial continues and UCC lawyers say they are ready to produce evidence to prove the legally unrepresented Sibaminya’s guilt on the other two remaining counts of tampering/damaging and theft. Sibaminya says yes, he was caught at the site but denies the charges of tampering and stealing.
To prove their case beyond reasonable doubt, state lawyers from UCC have lined up a list of witnesses including ATC/Cumsat security company Mubende region masts maintenance technician Patrick Cwinywa who during the Tuesday session narrated to court how Sibaminya was caught red handed and in the act of vandalizing and stealing ATC equipment.
The technician told court he was tipped by the OC Kayanja Police Station who had participated in the arrest and subsequent investigations. He narrated how boda riders operating in Kisengye trading centre became suspicious on seeing a strange boda rider parking at their stage and staying there for long. They had previously lost fellow riders who had been macheted by Bijambiyas gang members, and their vigilance was now high.
The man explained himself how he was waiting for a certain telecom engineer who had gone up the hill to do some maintenance work on the ATC tower located outside their Kisengye trading centre.
When the inquisitive riders weren’t unsatisfied with his explanation, they confined the man and brought the matter to the attention of their LC1 Chairman who immediately rang the OC. And that’s how the rider was arrested. He said he was innocent and had just been hired to deliver the engineer who he had left up at the site doing some maintenance work.
The ‘engineer’ who the rider referred to as ‘my boss’ had told him to slope down with the bike (ostensibly to avoid being detected) and wait for his call from the trading centre, down hill.
It was the rider who led Police to where he had left Sibaminya who was caught red handed-busy tampering with and damaging ATC equipment.
The riders and the LC1 Chairman plus the OC immediately became suspicious because all along they know and have been seeing ATC maintenance engineers coming in branded double cabin pick ups and never on boda bodas. That’s how Sibaminya was apprehended and ended up being a subject of the ongoing criminal trial at the Makindye Court.
Regardless of where they are committed from, all such telecom vandalism crimes (targeting ATC’s more than 5000 tower sites scattered all over Uganda) have to be transferred to Kampala where UCC is mandated to prosecute offenders strictly at the Makindye-based Utilities Court. Its Uganda’s only specialized Court exclusively dedicated to trying such offences.
At the conclusion of his evidence-giving session, Patrick Cwinywa implored the Magistrate to consider maximum sentence in case Sibaminya is found guilty because such vandalism crimes are rampant and very costly to the ATC, the telecom companies and individual users of telecom services.
He explained about the network interruptions that result from such actions and asserted that maximum sentencing for Sibaminya (a security he had known for years as someone who used to be deployed to secure the ATC boosters at the Lusalira site in Mubende district’s Kibalinga Sub County) so that the deterrence effect is achieved to prevent other would-be future perpetrators.
At the end of the session, Sibaminya was sent back to Luzira from where he will return for subsequent court hearing sessions to enable prosecution bring and lead more witnesses. At the end of this all, the Magistrate will determine whether the accused person has a case to answer in which case Sibaminya will commence on his defence at the conclusion of which court will affirm his innocence or find him guilty. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com). 
