By Our Reporter
Under the leadership of Gen Don Nabasa, SFC has generally been a well-behaved force but in life you will always have bad apples in a basket leading to reputational damage similar to what Private Micheal Musinguzi has occasioned to the elite force by getting himself charged before Makindye Grade I Magistrate Allan Gakyaro Mpiirwe for criminal offences relating to robbery and murder. According to case prosecutor Gertrude Apio, Musinguzi working with Ambrose Ahimbisibwe on 9th October 2018 raided YODOCU Investments Ltd warehouses in Bunamwaya-Nankinga zone where they robbed over Shs100m and made off with hardware products from the company premises. A report in the state-owned Bukedde newspaper shows that the duo robbed the premises after murdering 55 year old John Bosco Wamala who the company had hired to oversee security at its warehouse. The Bukedde story adds that Musinguzi, who has since confessed to the crime, then hid Wamala’s body in the ceiling of the same premises from where it was discovered three days later. YODOCU premises are located opposite a Movit facility in Bunamwaya. Officer Fred Eriku, the CID officer at Katwe Police who headed investigations says the arrest of Kisenyi businessman Joseph Seruwunga who was found in possession of the stolen hardware products gave major breakthrough in the investigations. Through Seruwunga, they nabbed Musinguzi who instantly confessed to the offence and supplied leads resulting into Ahimbisibwe too being harvested. After getting his share of the loot, Musinguzi had fled to Isingiro where workaholic police CID detectives harvested him from. On Monday 25th February when they appeared before Magistrate Gakyaro, the accused weren’t allowed to enter any plea or defense because the offences they committed are capital in nature only triable by High Court. Case prosecutor Gertrude Apio informed court investigations were still ongoing, prompting Gakyaro to remand them back to Luzira up to 15th March when they are expected back. According to Bukedde newspaper, Musinguzi and Ahimbisibwe started by befriending Wamala from whom they learnt a lot of company secrets including the fact that his bosses would deliver money (hundreds of millions) to him to keep from the day’s sales. Thinking they are genuine friends, Wamala would even prepare meals and eat with the duo who all along were only planning mischief against the company including taking their host’s life.
COURT MARTIAL
In a related development YOCODU Directors and employees with whom Wamala used to work are living under fear that they could be harmed anytime because since the recent arrest of Musinguzi, they have continued getting threats from people vowing to kill them if they don’t stop giving implicating information to the prosecution team. The directors and workers fear that as soon as he secures bail, Private Musinguzi might harm them in order to placate himself against eventual conviction. Consequently sources in the CMI say that YOCODU lawyers have written to the army leadership demanding the transfer of Musinguzi and Ahimbisibwe’s trial from the civilian to military court martial because the two are subject to court martial proceedings under the UPDF Act. “This [possible revenge attack by Musinguzi] is a great concern for which we seek your urgent intervention,” the lawyers’ letter to CMI boss Abel Kandibo reads in part. The lawyers insist that Kandibo decisively intervenes because the court-martial is the one with proper jurisdiction to try serving officers like Musinguzi and as well as his accomplice Ambrose Ahimbisibwe. The lawyers argue that having confessed to the crime, trying and convicting Musinguzi should ideally be an easy thing for the court martial to accomplish. Among Wamala’s relatives, the Private Musinguzi scenario has revitalized debate on the President’s insistence that courts should stop the practice of abusively entertaining bail applications from murder and aggravated robbery suspects because once freed, they become a menace to society and do many horrible things including harming possible witnesses and generally interfering with investigations. The Wamala family members are fearful that through corruption and other evil practices, Musinguzi and Ahimbisibwe might manipulate the civilian court system and get released on bail whereafter fears abound they will unleash more havoc.
