Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Court Orders Police To Amend Charge Sheet To Prosecute Journalist Attackers.


Wakiso, 14th /Aug/2012; Court in Entebbe has ordered the police to amend the charge sheet so as to commence with  the prosecution of one Ddungu Elias who is accused of assaulting a Vision Group journalist Rebecca Nakame.
This followed a prayer  to court by the Resident State Attorney, Eunice Mbaine that the charge sheet be amended so that court proceeds with the trial of Ddungu Elias since the police have not arrested Katongole Issa and Mutagubya Jamil who are jointly charged with Ddungu.
Court ordered for the arrest of Katongole and Mutagubya last month but efforts to trace them have proved futile since they have reportedly abandoned their workplace in Lweza village in Wakiso district.
Prosecution alleges that on 20th/April/2012, the trio, at Bweya village, Ssissa sub-county in Wakiso district assaulted Nakame occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to section 236 of The Penal Code Act and destroyed her property –a video camera which they also confiscated.
Nakame was attacked by a mob on the orders of one Hakaya Luswa a special police constable attached to Kajjansi police station. She had been invited to cover a news story about a family land wrangle, but was attacked by some family members before she started filming the story. Luswa was however excluded from the case file for unknown reasons. He is a police officer attached to Kajjansi Police Station.
The case was adjourned to 13th September 2012 for the trial of Ddungu.
 Though court has ordered for the amendment of the charge sheet, the warrant of arrest should remain open so that the police can arrest katongole and Mutagubya any time to produce them in court to plead to the charges.

For More Information Contact;
 Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-Uganda),
Kivebulaya Road Mengo Kampala Opp. St. Marcelino Pre. School,
P.O.BOX. 71314 Clock Tower Kampala
Tel: +256-414-272934 / +256-414-667627
 E-mail: news@hrnjuganda.org, humanrajournalists@yahoo.co.uk
 Website: Www.hrnjuganda.org, BLOG: http://hrnjuganda.blogpost.com

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