Africa-Press – Uganda. The International Crimes Division of the High Court has for the third time declined to grant bail to one of the co-accused of the Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs).
Mr John Mugera is facing charges of terrorism, murder, attempted murder and aiding and abetting terrorism together with MPs Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West) and Muhammad Ssegirinya (Kawempe North) who were granted bail.
Other suspects who are still in prison include; Mike Sserwadda, Jude Muwonge, Bulo Wamala and Jackson Kanyike.
In his third application through his lawyers, Mugera raised four issues that he wanted the court to consider while granting him bail.
These included; he has a fixed place of abode within the jurisdiction of the court, has sound sureties, has never failed to comply with any bail conditions, and has no other charges against him.
The trial judge Alice Komuhangi Khaukha on Friday observed that Mugera seems to hold a superior position to all the sureties yet they should possess a certain amount of authority and or influence over him.
“Whereas it was my finding in criminal miscellaneous application No. 002 of 2023, I would find the applicant’s blood relatives or family members more convincing in effecting their responsibility as sureties, I still find after thoroughly examining them that the ones presented are not substantial because from my assessment, they did not possess the capacity to prevail over the applicant to ensure that he complies with terms and conditions of the court if bail was to be granted,” Justice Khaukha held.
The judge further noted that whereas it is not a legal requirement that sureties should possess a very strong financial status for them to be found substantial, one of them sells used motorcycles while the other sells charcoal thus they do not possess the required capacity to bind themselves to a substantial amount of money befitting cases of this nature before Mugera can be released.
Mugera and five others are accused of being behind the spate of killings in the Masaka sub-region that left about 26 residents killed between March and June 2021.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
