High Court yet to fix date for trial of Kirumira murder suspects

The High Court is yet to fix the date to start hearing a case in which two suspects are accused of murdering Muhammad Kirumira.

The former Buyende District Police Commander was gunned down on September 8, 2018 together with his female friend, Resty Nalinya by gunmen riding on motorcycles.

On Tuesday, Justice Alex Ajiji Mackay of Wakiso High Court postponed the hearing of the case to unmentioned date after he was told by the prosecution that only one out of the ten prosecution witnesses had turned up.

Ajiji further remanded the two suspects Abubakar Kalungi and Hamza Mwebe until when the High Court in Kampala sets a date for the case to be heard.

The State Prosecutor Joyce Tushabe told the court that the prosecution was doing all it could to ensure that other witnesses turn up in court when the date for the hearing is fixed.

The suspects’ lawyer Zafaniah Zzimbe asked the court to either dismiss the case or grant bail to the suspects since there was no progress in having the matter heard yet they are suffering in custody.

In 2019, Wakiso Grade One Magistrate, Noah Ssajjabi committed the two suspects to the High Court for trial.

The court was told that there is overwhelming evidence implicating the two the suspects and others still at large were involved in the murder that was orchestrated by former Alliance Democratic Force (ADF) rebels under the leadership of the late Abdul Kateregga.

Kateregga was killed in November last year during a security raid on his home in Namungoona.

Both Kalungi and Mwebe are former ADF combatants who were granted asylum.

According to the evidence before the court, Kalungi was tracked down by investigators after the murder.