Officers Facing Charges of Torching Katwe Police CID Decry Brokeness, Ask That Their Case is Heard Quickly

The Anti-Corruption Court has given the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) upto February 2021 to prosecute the five Police Officers who are accused of being behind the fire that gutted the Office of the Division Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Office at Katwe Police Station in Kampala; in September this year.

They are alleged to have conspired together to destroy evidence with an intention to prevent it from being used in Court and that was cash exhibit of One Million Shillings which  was required in evidence in a judicial proceeding.

They include an Aid to Criminal Investigations Department – Chanda Prossy Forsca, D/AIP Kibuuka Apollo, D/SGT Nangobi Mariah, D/C Bakole Karim and D/C Okello Moses.

They have all appeared before Grade One Magistrate Abert Asiimwe and informed him of how they are no longer working and they expected the State to have charged them in Court when it was ready to try them.

It is against this background that Magistrate Asiimwe noted the Officers concerns as genuine and adjourned the hearing of this case to 26th February, 2021 giving  Prosecution’s Nicholas Kawooya “enough time” to conclude investigations and disclose to the accused persons all DPP’s intended evidence so that they can also be able to prepare their defence.

The Magistrate has also assured the Officers who are on Interdiction that he is going to expeditiously hear their case so that they can know who is guilty and who is not.

On 24th September, 2020 the accused Police Officers were arraigned in Court and faced charges of Abuse of Office, Corruption, destroying evidence and Conspiracy to commit a felony.

They are alleged to have committed the offence between August and September 2020 at Katwe Police Station in Kampala.

D/C Bakole Karim who was incharge of the exhibits was separately charged with Arson in which its alleged that on 14th September, 2020 at Katwe Police Station in Kampala, he willfully and unlawfully set fire to the office of the Division CID Officer at Katwe Police Station in Kampala the property of Uganda Police Force.

While D/AIP Kibuuka Apollo who was incharge of the Land Desk is accused of having failed to disclose exhibit money recovered by him in the case of theft of Latto Milk and further corruptly neglected to report the recovery of exhibit cash of Shs 1M.

They have since denied the charges and  are now all out on bail. They return to Court on 26th February, 2021 for trial.