Court upholds sentence in Pr. Kayanja’s case
Publish Date: Feb 19, 2014
Pastor Martin Sempa and their lawyer walk out of the court building on Wednesday. PHOTO/John Semakula
KAMPALA - The High Court in Kampala has upheld the ruling of the Magistrate’s Court which, in 2012, convicted three city pastors of conspiring to tarnish fellow pastor Robert Kayanja’s name.
Justice Joseph Murangira who presided over the appeal which the three pastors filed soon after losing the case on Wednesday, threw out all the nine grounds they had based on to file it.
The judge said he had evaluated each ground and found that none had merit.
The pastors are Michael Kyazze of Omega Healing Center, Martin Sempa of Makerere Community Church and Solomon Male of Arising for Christ.
They alleged that Pr. Kayanja had sodomized some boys who were among his flock.
Justice Murangira concurred with Magistrate Borore that the three pastors bribed witnesses in the case to testify against Pr. Kayanja of Rubaga Miracle Center in court.
Magistrate Borore in 2012 sentenced the three pastors to a fine of sh1m and to do community service for 100 days.
Pastors Sempa and Male carried out the sentence at Mulago Hospital in Kampala.
Pr. Kayanja confessed that he was not convinced with the sentence the Magistrate had given his colleagues but didn’t appeal against it.
While delivering the sentence at the high Court in Kampala, Justice Murangira observed that Borore had been very lenient to the pastors in the sentence he gave them.
“Because you served your sentence, you can go back to your homes. But remember to be good Christians in your communities,” said Justice Murangira.
The judge told the pastors they were free to appeal to a higher court. All present in court, the pastors left in protest.
All the three pastors accused Police and the judiciary of mismanaging their case, and called on President Yoweri Museveni to check on the two institutions.
