Africa-Press – Uganda. The Director of Public Prosecutions has withdrawn criminal charges against businessman Mahmud Abid Alam. He has been accused of conspiring to defeat justice following the alleged unlawful release of information.
When the matter came up for hearing on May 28, Resident State Attorney, Ms Jackline Keko, informed the court that the DPP had lost interest in the matter.
However, Mr Abid’s lawyers objected to the withdrawal notice and asked the court to hear the case on merit.
During a session presided over by grade one Magistrate, Mr Fedelis Otwao, yesterday he allowed the state to withdraw the charges.”The DPP is vested with powers to withdraw any offence before it is concluded,” Mr Otwao ruled.
Mr Alam is jointly charged with Mr Wilber Osteen Wanyama, the former Regional Police boss of Wamala Region in Kasanda DistrictInitially, the businessman was accused of having conspired with D/SP Wanyama, D/ASP Peter Baitera Muhanuza, ASP Daniel Robert Ogellan and D/SGT Wilson Azale being police officers on April 8, 2020 between Mityana Regional Police Office and Ntinda to defeat the course of justice by unlawfully releasing confidential information in police file Ref. No. Kassanda CRB 234/ 2020 to Alam who was a suspect.
However, along the way, the DPP dropped charges against D/ASP Baitera, ASP Ogellan, and D/SGT Wilson Azale.
The charges in the aforementioned case file, stem from atrocities committed by a group of people allegedly attached to the businessman.
The group was accused of gang-raping a woman before they destroyed banana plantations, robbed property, and battered residents of Bukoba and Bukompe villages, among other evils.
