Staff
For those familiar with European history, there is a saying, “THEY LEARNT NOTHING AND FORGOT NOTHING,” a statement originally used to describe the Bourbon monarchy who failed to learn from their past mistakes.
The same sentiment applies to the youth involved in a previously well-planned plot to frame Pastor Robert Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Centre.
The plot, orchestrated by Pastor Jackson Ssenyonga of Christian Life Church in Bwaise, is crumbling like a pack of cards as the arrested youth’s testimonies unfold.
As Ssentogo, a witness currently in custody, testified, it was clear he was following the same script as his co-accused: Sserugo, Labib Khalifa, Alex Wakamala, and Martin Kagolo.
They are all accused of fabricating evidence, giving false information to the police, and criminal trespassing at Pastor Robert Kayanja’s Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral.
In his defense, Ssentongo alleged that he joined the Kayanja team in 2017 at the age of 13 and was sent for security training at the police school in Masindi for six months at the age of 14.
One naturally wonders if the Uganda Police Force would actually train a minor. However, documents he signed before the training, along with fingerprints, show that at the time of training, he was 19 years old.
Also of note, during Ssentongo’s submission, he attempted to refer to photos extracted from his phone to guide his testimony, a move that was objected to by State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya.
“I pray that the defense refrains from relaying evidence in the form of photos, videos, or audio from the witness’s phone because neither the items nor the witness is an expert,” State Muwaganya requested to the court. He added, “To determine the authenticity of any electronic device evidence is the preserve of a forensic expert. It has not been established in evidence so far that the witness is such an expert. He has not even demonstrated it by way of presentation of the gadget from which he purportedly extracted it.”
The State Attorney’s objection followed Ssentongo’s request to present a photo of him with security gadgets, claiming he personally took the photo using his Samsung phone despite Ssentongo himself posing in the very picture.
This caused the court to burst into laughter. As the State Attorney and the defense team argued their understanding of the law, Ssentongo asked for a short call (a common tactic witnesses use when pinned to the wall).
Defense lawyer Humphrey Tumwesigye followed him, and the break stretched to six minutes. At this juncture, Magistrate Adam Byarugaba granted leave to the State Attorney and adjourned the case to November 7th, 2025.
It should also be recalled that Back in 2022, the witness Reagan Ssentongo and co-accused Khalifa Labib were sentenced to six years for aggravated robbery and assault crimes and are currently pushing for bail at Masindi High Court in front of Judge Issa Sserunkuuma.
The two former workers at Pastor Robert Kayanja’s farm in Kiryandongo, who turned into his tormentors, were found guilty of robbery and assault. It is said that they attacked Mr. Patrick Turyatemba at his home in Kigumba, beat him up, and sprayed him with pepper.
The accused persons were arrested and found in position with pepper spray in their room following the incident that happened on 25th April 2020 and Chief Magistrate, Her Worship Lucy Kabahuma gave them a punishment equivalent to six years with the one year they have spent on remand.
