By Mulengera Reporters
For some time now, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has been focused on protecting the entire communications industry against rampant acts of criminality. And during the Court session at Makindye-based Utilities Court on Tuesday, it was clear through the prosecution work done by its lawyers that the Commission remains focused and dedicated to securing and protecting the proprietary interests of all stakeholders.
At the Makindye Court, Her Worship Molly Alice Adong was in the driver’s seat as two traders from downtown Kampala, previously arrested for infringing on DSTV’s proprietary rights relating to the sale of TV decoders, had their respective bail applications heard.
These are 40-year-old Michael Jjagwe and 34-year-old Kassim Ssenyonjo who, since 2023, have been trading in and selling to the unsuspecting members of the public DSTV-enabled broadcasting equipment without the UCC-issued ‘A type approval license or certificate.’ That licensing by UCC is mandatory.
The two traders have been engaging in this illegal trade chiefly dealing in (a) star track SRT-2026HD digital satellite receivers, (b) digisat DX combo mini-TNT+S2+T2 combo digital satellite receivers, (c) digisat DX3 combo T2+S2 combo decoders, (d) red tiger satellite receivers, (e) mediastar MS-MINI 2727 forever decoders, (f) media star MS-R110 digital satellite receivers, (g) Senetor ICE 2+ mini-HD box decoders and (h) star track satellite receivers.
To deal in the importation and selling of this sort of equipment, one requires express authorization by the regulator, similar to what DTSV/multichoice has. In their case, Jjagwe and Ssenyonjo didn’t have any such authorization yet they have been at it since the year 2023.
Whereas Jjagwe operates this from his electronics shop at Hanifa Towers building, Ssenyonjo operates his electronics business at Energy Centre, downtown Kampala. Jjagwe is a resident of Kitende in Sisa Sub County Wakiso district and Ssenyonjo is of Kifamba zone Makindye division Kampala district.
They were arrested and separately charged with criminal offences earlier this year at the beginning of March and they have been remanded at Luzira prison since that time. The offences they are alleged to have committed are created under Uganda Communications (equipment type approval) regulations no. 7 and 33, 2019.
Yet ironically, the highly connected duo has been using their remand time at Luzira to instigate their close and powerful relatives and friends to mount pressure on Molly Alice Adong, the trial Magistrate, to quickly release them on bail. As a result, emissaries have been contacting the Magistrate’s close friends, family members and other relatives in a bid to increase pressure on her to let them go.
During the Tuesday court session, during which state prosecutors from UCC had brought witnesses ready to give evidence pinning the duo, the trial Magistrate verbally exploded up and assured the two accused businessmen that no amount of pressure will bend the law in their favour. She cautioned them to calm down and allow the wheels of justice to turn freely as ought to be. She informed them that such actions would only make things more complicated for them.
Advising the accused persons to cut pressure, Her Worship Adong made it clear she isn’t the type to be intimidated because in her long career, she has ever remanded people as big as Ministers and still the sun rose from the East and set in the West. As she rebuked the duo, the Magistrate expressed her suspicion that the two accused persons might be acting under the influence of witch-craft because no sane person, in their position, would be expected to act that recklessly.
After verbally calling the two accused persons to order, the Magistrate went through the bail application processing by verifying their NINs, LC1 letters for the two accused persons and their sureties’ too. The sureties they paraded included spouses, family members, relatives and fellow traders from downtown Kampala.
In what took the Magistrate and the state prosecutors by surprise, the two accused persons had changed their defence counsel Charity Tumusiime who they had replaced with counsel Ibrahim Yasiin Bunyasi. Yet the same wasn’t communicated to Court. There was concern that this alteration of counsel instructions hadn’t been communicated to Court and prosecution, which is why the record on ECMIS still reflected Charity. The Magistrate repeatedly called on the accused persons to ‘calm down.’
Counsel Bunyasi informed Court, as the Magistrate went through verification of the sureties and the relevant documents, that he wasn’t ready for the hearing having been instructed a few days earlier, which was on Friday to be specific. He said he had been ill and hadn’t managed to study the disclosed court filings. Even when they repeatedly made it clear they were focused on ensuring a speedy trial for the accused persons, the state prosecutors from UCC reluctantly agreed to defence counsel’s request to be allowed more time to go through the documents while interacting more with his clients and predecessor.
The Magistrate warned the accused persons and their lawyers on the need to act promptly as opposed to wasting court’s time, as UCC lawyers indicated that their witnesses (including DSTV Uganda officials who are also the complainants) are ready to give evidence implicating the two accused persons.
“Please organize yourselves and avoid delaying tactics, otherwise you will crash. Those games of nursery school you are trying to play on this Court should end because they won’t be entertained at all,” declared the Magistrate while making it clear that this was the final adjournment she was giving to the defence team.
Before adjourning the matter to Tuesday 21st April, the Magistrate delivered her ruling on the duo’s bail applications. Jjagwe had justified his bail application on grounds that he needs to be free to pay school fees for his children, manage his creditors and attend to his sick child but the Magistrate disallowed it.
This was so because of discrepancies relating to his place of abode and also the fact that his sureties’ paper work (the LC1 letters, NINs etc) was not adequately in order. She remanded him back to Luzira from where he will be driven and returned to Court on 21st April for the 10am session. On that day, Charles Bisanso of DSTV will once again be at hand to give his evidence against the two Kampala businessmen.
Led by Naziri Kagawa and Kevin Bakulumpagi, the state prosecutors complained about delays by the defence side because this was the third time their witness (Charles Bisanso) had come to court without being able to give his evidence because of the defence side’s unpreparedness.
Kassim Ssenyonjo, the other accused person, successfully justified his bail application on grounds that he needed time to raise money to pay off a FINCA loan, file his daily returns with URA and to also look after his diabetic mother. Because his sureties’ paper work was in order, his bail application was granted on condition that his recognizance of Shs1m is deposited. Shs10m, not in cash, was imposed on each of his two sureties. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
