Arrest Baguma on sight – Court

Kampala.

Senior police officer Aaron Baguma yesterday defied court summons to appear over murder charges and the Chief Magistrate ordered for his arrest.

Last week, Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court summoned Baguma to appear yesterday and answer charges of murder in connection with the death of a woman, Donah Betty Katusabe, at a car depot in Kampala.

Chief Magistrate Jamson Karemani issued an arrest warrant for Baguma and asked the police and the general public to immediately arrest the former commander of Kampala Central Police Station and bring him over to be charged with Katusabe’s murder.

Order to arrest Baguma
The court was compelled to order Baguma’s arrest after the Resident State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya reported that the senior officer had failed to bring himself to court as per last week’s criminal summons issued to him by the same court to appear yesterday.

“ASP Baguma is not in court in respect to the criminal summons. Your worship, we apply for a warrant of arrest so that he can be compelled to appear and the charges be read to him,” Mr Muwaganya asked court.

The presiding Chief Magistrate Karemani asked the state attorney whether the prosecution had served him with the criminal summons.
In response, Mr Muwaganya said the prosecution is not required in law to summon murder suspects, but quickly added that the summons of the court were sent out with the case file to Baguma.

Mr Muwaganya said the communication he had received from the police was that they had failed to trace Baguma since he was transferred from his known office at Kampala Central Police Station.

The state attorney then asked court to issue the warrant of arrest against Baguma through the Inspector General of Police since he is a senior serving officer.

“A warrant of arrest is issued against A8 (Mr Baguma) who is not in court and I must emphasise that the warrant of arrest is not necessary directed at the IGP,” Magistrate Karemani ordered. The arrest warrant was issued to bring Baguma to court by September 1.
The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had previously twice issued summons to the police leadership to produce Baguma to be charged with murder but the police did not comply. This prompted the DPP to petition court which issued criminal summons to Baguma to appear yesterday.

Speaking to this newspaper yesterday, the deputy police spokesperson, Ms Polly Namaye, said they would comply with the court orders to arrest and bring Baguma to court.

“As soon as we receive the warrant of arrest, we shall comply and arrest him,” Ms Namaye told this reporter in a telephone interview.
However, when asked why Baguma, who was recently sent on staff course at Bwebajja did not show up in court, Ms Namaye said she did not know the reason.

“There are many reasons why someone can fail to appear in court but I don’t know why he didn’t show up,” she said.
Mr Baguma is one of the nine suspects implicated in the murder of businesswoman Katusabe at Pine Car Bond in Kampala on October 21 last year.

Accusations
Mr Baguma is accused of having gone to Pine Car Bond, just a few metres away from CPS, where he found the deceased being beaten and despite her pleading to him for help from her tormentors, he asked her to pay up the Shs9m debt to the car bond boss Muhammed Ssebuwufu, over a vehicle she had bought. It is said Baguma then disappeared and Katusabe was killed by her tormentors shortly after.

Mr Ssebuwufu is currently in Luzira prison on murder charges awaiting trial in the High Court.

The DPP holds that Mr Baguma is criminally liable for failing to protect life as is his obligation under the constitution when he just looked away when the deceased pleaded with him to rescue her from the assailants.

Prosecution contends that late last year, the suspects while using sticks and a machete, beat Katusabe to death for failure to clear the Shs9m debt which was a balance on a car she had bought from Ssebuwufu’s car depot. Besides murder which attracts up to a maximum penalty of death, Mr Baguma faces another serious charge of kidnap with intent to murder.