KAMPALA – The General Court Martial has found the patron of Boda-boda 2010 Hajji Abudullah Kitatta guilty of being in possession of a firearm with out a valid licence.
The 7-member Court chaired by Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti has unanimously ruled that evidence from four prosecution witnesses was satisfactory enough to prove the charges against Kitatta and his body guard Sowali Ngobi.
Among the guns that Kitatta unlawfully possessed were; the famous gold pistol, an SMG riffle and 35 rounds of ammunition.
However the same court has acquitted 8 of Kitatta’s co-accused who have been facing only one count of unlawfull possession of millitary uniforms and caps saying prosecution adduced no adqaute evidence to warrant conviction.
These have been set free by court after 15 months on remand at Luzira prison.
The court has gone a head to also acquit Hajji Kitatta of the offence of unlawfull possession of millitary attires and and a pistol that the Uganda Police lawfully issued to his bodyguard Sowali Ngobi to discharge his professional duties.
In doing so, the Court has relied on the testimony given by jailed former police special investigatons commandant Nixon Agasirwe who testfied that he ordered for the issuance of the said Pistol to Ngobi but not an SMG riffle.
After the duo’s conviction, the lead prosecutor Maj. Rapheal Mugisha has asked court to hand Kitatta and Ngobi a maximum sentence of the years to act as a deterrent for other would be offenders of this prevalent offence.
However, defence lawyer Shaban Sanywa prays for leniency and a non-custodial sentence saying his clients are victims of circumstances because the perosn who issued them with the contentious guns never gave them cerficates, and also argues that they are family men and sole breadwinners of their young families and school going children and responsible people in society, with Kitatta being a NRM chair of Lubaga division.
