By Joan Pounds
Buganda Road Court Chief Magistrate Lilian Buchana has remanded to Luzira Prison, Robert Shaka, 39, for allegedly violating the right to privacy of President Yoweri Museveni.
Shaka, a resident of Kiwatule Kutaano, in Kiira Division, was on Monday arrested by police and detained at Special Investigations Unit (SIU) headquarters in Kireka, Kampala.
Appearing before Buganda Road Court on Thursday afternoon, Shaka denied the charge of offensive communication which the state said he “wilfully and repeatedly committed between 2011 and 2015.”
Prosecution further submitted that Shaka, “an Information Technology specialist disguised as Tom Voltaire Okwalinga, with the help of a computer and with no purpose of legitimate communication unlawfully posted on social media (Facebook) statements regarding the health condition of president Museveni.”
Shaka’s lawyers led by Nicholas Opiyo had secured an order from Nakawa Magistrate’s court instructing police to unconditionally release his client from detention where he had spent over 48 hours.
However, police drove Shaka to Buganda Road Court for charging.
Shaka pleaded “not guilty” before his lawyers filed an application, emphasising his constitutional entitlement to bail and the presence of substantial sureties.
Defense lawyers also demanded that prosecution discloses all the information and evidence which the state will rely on while prosecuting the case.
The suspect waving at his friends and relatives in the court room
The suspect waving at his friends and relatives in the court room
“We seek to be availed with documentary evidence to help the accused understand the charges he is facing and to know how he disturbed the privacy of president Museveni,” said defense lawyer Isaac Ssemakadde.
State prosecutor Emily Ninsiima informed court that the defense “can now use the particulars of the charge sheet since it is well detailed” but objected to the bail application on grounds that one of Shaka’s sureties presented identification documents with different names.
Magistrate Buchana remanded Shaka until Monday next week when she will consider his bail application after prosecution has scrutinized particulars of his four sureties.
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