Uganda: Baguma Fails to Appear in Court, Warrant of Arrest Issued

Aaron Baguma

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By Anthony Wesaka and Betty Ndagire
Buganda Road Court has this morning issued a warrant of arrest to former commander of Kampala Central Police Station, Aaron Baguma, after the senior officer failed to appear before the court to answer to murder charges in connection to the killing of a business woman last year.

Mr Baguma had been expected in court this morning after the said court had issued him criminal summons last week.

“ASP Baguma is not in court in respect of the criminal summons. Your worship, we apply for a warrant of arrest so that he can be compelled to appear and the charges read for him,” resident State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya said.

But before the presiding chief Magistrate, Jamson Karemani, could issue the warrant of arrest, he asked the state whether they had served Baguma with the criminal summons. In response, Mr. Muwaganya said since the accused is a senior serving police officer, they sent out the summons together with the police file.

However, Mr Muwaganya added that communication he has since received is that they have been unable to trace him. He explained to court that Baguma’s place of work has since changed after he was transferred.

Mr Muwaganya also told court that in murder cases, the state is not required to summon murder suspects and that since his whereabouts are unknown, it’s prudent that a warrant of arrest be issued for him through the Inspector General of Police Gen Kale Kayihura.

In response, Karemani said it’s not only the IGP who can arrest and bring him to court but any other person including a civilian can do so.

To that effect, the arrest warrant was issued for Baguma for September 1.

Mr Baguma is one of the nine suspects in the alleged killing of businesswoman Donah Betty Katusabe at Pine Car Bond in Kampala on October 21, 2015.

The Director of Public Prosecutions in December last year, sanctioned murder charges against Mr Baguma for his role in aiding and abetting the murder of the businesswoman.

He is accused of having gone to the bond which is just a few metres away from CPS, where he found the deceased being beaten and despite her pleading to him for help from the mob; he simply asked her to pay Muhammed Ssebuwufu, the proprietor of the car bond .

It’s against this background that the DPP says Baguma is criminally liable since his duty as a police officer is to protect life and yet he just looked away when the deceased pleaded with him to rescue her from the mob.

Some of the other suspects in the case are Paul Tasingika , Godfrey Kayiza, Phillip Mirambe and Stephen Lwanga.

Prosecution alleges that late last year, the suspects killed Katusabe using sticks and a panga, for failure to clear a Shs9m debt which was the balance of money left for a car that she had bought from Ssebuwufu’s car bond.

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