Pastor Kiweede extradited from Zimbabwe a year after prison break
Pastor Kiwedde in a dock during court ruling on his bail application in 2015. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Police say in 2010, Muwanguzi changed his name to Paul Mwamba and went in hiding in Kenya where he opened a church in Eldoret which he operated since 2013.
- After barely serving two years of his sentence, Muwanguzi in October last year escaped from Mutukula prison under unclear circumstances.
MASAKA. Uganda's self-declared born again Pastor William Paul Muwanguzi, famously known as Kiwedde has been extradited from Zimbabwe, a year after he escaped from prison.
Mr Asan Kasingye, the director of International Police directorate in Uganda has confirmed Kiwedde's arrest saying they have been looking for him ever since he escaped from Mutukula Government Prison in Rakai District while serving his four-year jail sentence.
Pastor Kiwedde was in 2013 arrested from Rakai District, where he was impersonating a Kenyan Catholic priest who was performing healing prayers and miracles from which he extorted colossal sums of money from hundreds of unsuspecting followers.
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According to prosecution led by Miriam Atike, Pastor Muwanguzi, who was not represented by a lawyer, tried to escape from Kalisizo Government Prison in Rakai District where he had been remanded on charges of impersonation. It is alleged that he tried to make a hole in the prison wall for his escape.
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to two years in jail over impersonation and an additional three years on charges of attempted break-out from Kalisizo prison where he was on remand.
After barely serving two years of his sentence, Muwanguzi in October last year escaped from Mutukula prison under unclear circumstances before running into hiding in Zimbabwe through Tanzania.
He escaped a month after he had been relocated from the overcrowded Masaka Regional Main Prison to Mutukula in Rakai District. Before his unprecedented escape, he gave the excuse of being sick and was eventually left behind to clean the ward and took advantage of lax security at the prison to find a way out of jail.
'After getting reports about his escape from prison authorities, our partners in the Interpol were put on notice to help us apprehend him on sight,' says Mr Kasingye.
According a Zimbabwean news agency, the pastor was arrested for flouting immigration laws and possessing a fake passport in the names of David Mubiru. He was picked from Zimbabw'es southern state of Waterfalls where he was operating a Holy Fire Ministries Church along with a fellow Ugandan.
Mr Maxwell Ogwal the greater Masaka Regional police commander reveals that police on Wednesday evening received Kiwedde from the Interpol officers at Entebbe and was accordingly transfered to Kalisiizo in Rakai District.
He told us Muwanguzi will face charges of prison break, impersonation, being in possession of a fake passport, on top of having his earlier prison sentence reviewed.
Pastor Muwanguzi, became famous in Uganda of activities at his defunct pentecostal church under the auspice of Holy Fire Ministries on Entebbe road in Kampala where thousands of believers gathered for miracles. He extorted a lot of money from his followers from which he accumulated wealth and bought lavish cars he branded with 'Kiwedde' an expression meaning ‘it is done’.
He has previously faced several charges including terrorism, illegal possession of firearms and assaulting a police officer on duty.
Police say in 2010, Muwanguzi changed his name to Paul Mwamba and went in hiding in Kenya where he opened a church in Eldoret which he operated since 2013.
