Mbale judge petitions DPP over death threats

The resident judge of Mbale High Court, Justice Susan Okalany, has petitioned the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and President Museveni seeking protection from what she calls gangs who are threatening her life in her home in Bukedea District.

Her lawyers, Alliance Advocates, claim that the gang has already hired assassins to kill her.
They say the judge’s troubles arose from her intervention in a wrangle over a neighbouring cattle market where gangsters attacked and hacked revenue collectors on October 16.

“Our client (Justice Okalany) has become a key target of this so-called powerful and connected lawless gang, who have thrived in their schemes together with their backers for the simple reasons that she helped her cousin get medical treatment and taken him to her home for protection lest they finish him off to destroy evidence as they have threatened to do and advocating justice for all the victims of the market incident,” the petition to the DPP reads in part.

“Our client has received information to the effect that an assassin has already been hired to kill her. Indeed, several people who have heard the threats, have told our client to take extra precaution. Our client has informed us that she has raised this informally with you as well as the IGP. We are simply putting it on record,” the petition adds.

The lawyers say as officers of Bukedea Town Council, who included her cousin Charles Obonyo and Dr Nelson Mafabi were preparing to carry out their normal duties in the cattle market on October 16, they were brutally attacked by gangsters.

The tender of one Mr Isaac Epilo to manage the cattle market had expired and the chief administrative officer had directed the responsible officers, who included the victims of the attack to take over the revenue collection in the meantime as the council searched for a new tenderer.

It is alleged that the district police were asked to provide security to the town council officials during the tax collection exercise in anticipation of resistance and violence from Mr Epilo’s group but they did not.

“It is, therefore, not surprising that the victims were helplessly beaten and hacked with deadly weapons with no one to rescue them. This was very deplorable,” the lawyers wrote.

The victims are currently admitted to hospital.
The lawyers say cases of aggravated robbery, assault and causing grievous bodily harm were reported to police but no suspect has been arrested.
They say Justice Okalany contacted the Inspector general of Police for assistance after receiving information that Bukedea police were not willing to arrest the suspects.

“The said Isaac Epilo before his arrest, threatened to march naked to the home of our client if she did not stop her pursuit of justice for the market assault victims,” the petition reads in part.
The DPP received Justice Okalany’s petition on October 30 but by press time last evening, no response had been sent to the judge.

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