Hearing of Suspended DPC’s case pushed to February

The hearing of a case in which Old Kampala Divisional Police Commander (DPC), Mr Joram Mwesigye is accused of assaulting a journalist has been pushed to February 4.
The case whose hearing was supposed to start today at Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court was adjourned because of the absence of the key witness, Mr Andrew Lwanga (victim) who is still admitted at Nsambya Hospital.
State prosecutor, Ms Deborah Itwau asked the presiding grade one magistrate Sanyu Mukasa for more time till when Mr Lwanga has recovered and is in position to testify before court.
Subsequently, the magistrate adjourned the case and extended Mr Mwesigye’s bail.
Mr Mwesigye was on Thursday charged with three counts, including assault and occasioning bodily harm and malicious damage of property. He was however released on a cash bail of Shs800,000 while his sureties were each bonded Shs2million, not cash.
Prosecution alleges that on January 12, at Florida bar and guest house along Namirembe road in Kampala the Superintendent of Police, Mwesigye assaulted Mr Lwanga.
It is further alleged that on the same day along Shell Petrol Station in Bakuli, a city suburb, Mwesigye maliciously damaged two video cameras belonging to Lwanga and another scribe, Joseph SSettimba working with a local Television while they were covering a demonstration by unemployed youth group.
The youth were matching to Naguru police headquarters to seek permission for the different rallies they intend to hold this month.
Mwesigye was charged on Thursday but released on a cash bail of Shs800, 000 while each of his five sureties was bonded Shs2million, not cash.
Currently, MPs on the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on the Media are gathering signatures to back their petition against police’s continued brutality on scribes in the country.
The MPs intend to table the petition before Parliament calling for thorough investigations of the police officers involved after returning from the House’s Christmas recess.