Court defers hearing of Magara murder case after suspects miss supper

The trial judge in a case in which nine people are accused of killing former Bwendero Dairy Farm cashier was on Tuesday compelled to defer court proceedings after the defense lawyer said his clients had missed supper the day before and unfit to stand in the dock for long.

Susan Magara, a cashier at her family business was in 2018 kidnaped and killed by her captors, days after they demanded $1 million ransom.
The suspects remanded to Luzira prison for Magara’s murder are Yususf Lubega, Hussein Wasswa, Muzamiru Ssali, Hajara Nakandi and Abubaker Kyewolwa.
Others are Mahad Kisalita, Hassan Kato Miiro, Ismail Bukenya and Musa Abbas Buvumbo. 

The defence lawyer, Mr Richard Kumbuka told court on Tuesday that his clients had slept on an empty stomach the night before because court proceedings for the day had ended late (5:30pm). According to Mr Kumbuka, by the time the suspects reached prison, supper had already been served and there was nothing reserved for them.
“They are very hungry and very restricted that they cannot even get their relatives to buy them something to eat. In the interest for them to follow up the case, I pray that their condition be considered in the respect of a fair hearing. This matter should be adjourned to another day for them to be able to eat, refresh and also to catch up with the proceedings,” Mr Kumbuka told court presided over by Alex Ajiji on Tuesday.
 The lawyer’s submission compelled the judge to adjourn court proceedings to tomorrow (November 1), reasoning that the right to food for every citizen is paramount. 
 
“I want therefore, to agree with the counsel and the accused persons that they are indeed too hungry to follow the proceedings. An adjournment to tomorrow is not injurious to this case I must say. This is not to say that the prison authorities have or denied the inmates food; it is far from it,” Justice Ajiji said.
  
The suspects had Tuesday appeared in the dock for cross examination of a prosecution witness, Frank Nyakairu who testified that they were arrested after being tracked through the mobile telephones they were using to solicit for a ransom. 

 
Nyakairu, an operative attached to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) testified that he tracked all the 18 mobile telephone numbers used by the kidnappers to communicate to Magara’s family while asking for a million-dollar ransom. 
 
“I tracked several telephone numbers which were used by the kidnappers to ask for the ransom. The telephone calls we tracked were coming from the areas of Lungujja, Nakawuka,  Kitebi near Mutuntundwe, Bulange , Nsangi and Najjanankumbi,” Nyakairu told court. 
 
Nyakairu, a 10th prosecution witness told court that while moving in Mutundwe where one of the calls emerged, the team encountered a small yellow car which they trailed before arresting the owner, Nakandi.

The car is also in police custody.  
 
He further testified that they got leads and later established that the caller was one Yakub Byensi, a religious extremist based at Usafi Mosque in Mengo and that the call data also led them to the main suspect Yusuf Lubega.
      
“On the evening of April 27, 2018, the tracking team tricked Lubega's mother to report at Katwe police station. She identified the user of the phone number as Yusuf Lubega based at Usafi Mosque. The security [operative] laid a bait for Yusuf Lubega and used his brother to call him and informed him that they would release their mother if he paid Shs50, 000. He (Lubega) informed him (security operative) to find him at Usafi Mosque,” Nyakairu testified.
 
 
Nyakairu further told court that security operatives found Lubega standing on the doorway of the Mosque and that when they closed in to arrest him, he ran back inside the mosque before another believer came out with a machete and chopped-off the hand of one of the security personnel. 
 
Nyakairu testified that they called for reinforcement after the suspects refused to come out but started sharpening pangas until they used tear-gas which forced them out.
 
Prosecution case
State prosecutors, Ms Irene Nakimbugwe and Mr Joseph Kyomuhendo allege that the nine suspects on remand and others still at large on February 7, 2018 kidnapped Magara with intent to procure a ransom or benefit from her liberation from the danger of being murdered.
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