Coach Wemali sells house
The house in Kapchorwa that coach Peter Wemali (R) has sold in a bid to raise funds to fight his legal battles. Photo by Sande Bashaija
KAPCHORWA-Athletics coach, Peter Wemali, has sold off his property in what is believed to be a move to raise funds for his legal battles.
The Uganda Police coach, on remand since last month on charges of aggravated defilement, recently hired Martin Anukur of Anukur and Company Advocates to represent him in what is expected to be a marathon court battle.
Anukur, who admitted to be working with Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) lawyer, Francis Anguzo, said he plans to apply for bail in Mbale High Court.
Legal services in such cases don’t come cheap and Wemali is not oblivious of that fact. He recently sold his house in Kapchorwa and the plot on which it sits at Shs13m.
A source knowledgeable about the transaction, told Daily Monitor that Godfrey Wasukira, the buyer, only made a cash payment of Shs3m with the balance to be paid in installments.
Wasukira is a prominent car mechanic in Kapchorwa town. He was unwilling to confirm the transaction when contacted. “Are you Wemali’s brother? Why are you concerned about his property? Wasukira raged. “Wait for him to come out of prison and you ask him whether it’s me who bought and how much I paid,” he added.
Mark Oye Lokot, a policeman, brokered the deal on behalf of the incarcerated Wemali.
Lokot is one of Wemali’s closest friends having worked with him at the Kapchorwa Police Athletics Camp before being transferred to northern Uganda last year.
Lokot returned to Kapchorwa a few weeks ago and made an appearance at the Chief Magistrate’s Court on Monday when Wemali was remanded till June 5. He later negotiated with Prisons officers to allow him speak to Wemali.
The house, located near Kapchorwa Parents Secondary School, is the same Wemali claimed had been set ablaze by national athlete, Simon Ayeko.
The steeplechase runner and a cousin to Commonwealth champion Moses Kipsiro, was arrested and released on police bond after two days. Ayeko later said he was framed because of his relation with Kipsiro.
Kipsiro led the campaign to have Wemali arrested after female junior runners complained to him that the coach was sexually harassing them during a training camp in Bukwo in March last year.
The coach eluded arrest for over a year because he has backing from Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) and Uganda Police. He was only arrested last month following the intervention of new Sipi Region Police Commander, James Ruhweza.
Ruhweza was moved by revelations by three teenage runners, who told a stakeholders meeting that the coach defiled them. Court recently heard that Wemali infected all the three runners with HIV while police has slapped three more defilement charges on the coach.
Daily Monitor has, meanwhile, learnt that Wemali’s one-bedroom house was never burnt. It was, instead, dismantled in what some say could have been an attempt by Wemali to divert attention after the long arm of the law cornered him.
“There is no way a house can get burnt and you don’t find a trace of fire at the site,” Grace Chesang, Wemali’s first athlete girlfriend, told us. “The timber and all other wooden materials in the house remained intact,” added the runner with whom Wemali fathered two children.
Grinding mill
This reporter also found no trace of fire at the site while several neighbours said they first learnt of the arson case after police officers cordoned off the house.
Chesang said her sister contributed money to purchase the plot and buy building materials but she is now shocked that Wemali sold without informing them much as they separated.
“Initially, we wanted to construct a grinding mill on that plot but Peter changed plans,” she said. The plot has another small mud and wattle house in which Wemali stayed before shifting to the permanent one. Sipi Region Police Commander, Ruhweza recently said the arson case is still under investigation.
