BEHIND THE MASK
A ruling on whether three Christian preachers accused of conspiracy to damage the reputation of their fellow preacher have a case to answer will be made on December 15.
Kampala Magistrate John Patrick Wekesa’s long-awaited ruling will give guidance on whether the three clerics, Martin Sempa, Solomon Male and Bob Kyazze need to start defending themselves on charges of conspiracy to damage Pastor Robert Kayanja’s name using a homophobic smear
The accused pastors, their lawyers, Henry Ddungu and David Kaggwa, together with David Mukalazi and Deborah Kyomuhendo (agents of the accused) face charges of conspiring to injure Pastor Kayanja’s reputation by saying he sodomised young men in his church. The two lawyers were included in the charge for allegedly commissioning false affidavits.
If convicted they all face five years in jail under Ugandan law.
A total of 21 prosecution witnesses have testified to court since the beginning of the case early this year, including the principal state witness, Pastor Robert Kayanja himself.
Kayanja is a senior serving pastor among his contemporaries and has worked as a preacher for over 30 years.
Four earlier sodomy files opened against Kayanja at the Kampala Central Police Station were closed for lack of enough evidence to warrant prosecution. During that time the alleged sodomy victims were medically examined but no evidence of anal sex was found.
The landmark case is seen in some quarters as part of an on-going power struggle among evangelical Christian pastors to win over the favour of the born-again first lady Mrs Janet Museveni.
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