We are ready for murder trial of Kanyamunyu – DPP
In the dock. Ms Cynthia Munwangari, Mr Matthew Kanyamunyu and Mr Joseph Kanyamunyu at Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court on January 4, 2018. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA.
What you need to know:
- “What you need to understand is that the cases are more than the judges. We have only 5 judges in the criminal court yet the cases are over ten thousand,” Mr Muyita said.
- However he said that with the ongoing affirmative action that includes women, young ones, elderly and a few prominent cases, the case could be accommodated early next year.
Kampala. The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has said they are waiting for the Judiciary to fix a date for the hearing of the murder case against businessman Mathew Kanyamunyu who is accused of killing a children rights activist Kenneth Akena.
Kanyamunyu and girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari are on trial for allegedly shooting Akena in Lugogo, Kampala, on November 12, 2016. His elder brother Joseph Kanyamunyu is charged with being an accessory to the murder.
The DPP deputy publicist, Ms Irene Nakimbugwe, said in a press statement that the file is in their custody and only awaiting the judiciary to set the hearing date.
“No prosecution can commence till this is done and once we receive a hearing notice, we will proceed to summon witnesses and have the matter heard,” she said in a statement last week.
Ms Nakimbugwe refuted media reports that the DPP office has no money to pursue the prosecution of Kanyamunyu and his co-accused.
“The office of the DPP hereby assures the general public and the family of the late Akena that it is committed to handling this matter to its logical conclusion. As the office of DPP, we pledge to continue to engage the family and keep them updated on any developments concerning this matter,” Ms Nakimbugwe stated.
It’s alleged that Kanyamunyu and his co-accused murdered Akena by shooting after he knocked their car at Lugogo near Kampala.
After the knocking, the deceased reportedly went to apologise to Kanyamunyu and promise to repair the dent but the latter instead allegedly shot him. Akena died a few hours later at Norvic Hospital on Bombo Road where he had been taken by the accused.
The three accused were committed to the High Court for trial and released on bail in January last year. In the summary of evidence presented before court, DPP says he has sufficient evidence to sustain the murder charge against the accused.
Matthew and his girlfriend, Munwangari insist they only acted as good Samaritans to rush Akena to hospital when they found him bleeding after he had been shot by unknown assailants.
When contacted on why the hearing date has not been fixed, the Judiciary’s Senior Communications officer of Solomon Muyita said the judges still have a backlog of cases from 2012.
“What you need to understand is that the cases are more than the judges. We have only 5 judges in the criminal court yet the cases are over ten thousand,” Mr Muyita said.
However he said that with the ongoing affirmative action that includes women, young ones, elderly and a few prominent cases, the case could be accommodated early next year.
