Judge faults police, DPP on investigations

KAMPALA. Court has decried shoddy investigations by police and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) which has compelled courts to acquit criminal suspects who would have been convicted.
High Court judge Yasin Nyanzi scoffed at the investigating bodies yesterday in a criminal session that saw him acquit suspected robber Robert Ssempebwa, alias Kazahura, of murder charges.
Ssempebwa was acquitted on grounds that the evidence adduced by the prosecutors was entirely circumstantial and the DPP never bothered to ensure a forensic examination was carried out to corroborate the earlier evidence.
He had been accused of masterminding the murder of Mubarak Tumusiime before robbing him of a vehicle.
Justice Nyanzi said there were contradictions in testimonies of senior police officers, a clear manifestation that the case was poorly investigated.

Contradicting testimonies
He said one of the investigating officers, in his testimony, told court that the vehicle in question was recovered from an unspecified parking yard in the city suburb of Kisaasi while the other told court that the vehicle was found abandoned at Kawuku on Entebbe Road.
This, Justice Nyanzi said, left the court in confusion on who was telling the truth.
Ssempebwa was jointly charged with Mr Ronald Asiimwe, alias Kanyankore, Mr Bob Kibirango and Mr Ramathan Kakooza.
“If a forensic examination was done on the deceased or the vehicle; a scientific report would have proved that the accused participated in the murder. Instead the prosecutor came to court to present hearsay evidence thinking that it would prove a murder case,” Justice Nyanzi scoffed at the investigating bodies.
Justice Nyanzi said subjecting suspects to torture to extract confession statements from them does not help their cases in court.
“I therefore acquit the accused on all counts basing on article 28 (11) of the Constitution,” Justice Nyanzi ruled.