Cop cites intrigue in Kayanja case

By Adante Okanya

POLICE investigations into the allegations of sodomy against Pastor Robert Kayanja have revealed a web of intrigue, a Police officer told court yesterday.

Grace Akullo, 40, narrated that her comprehensive investigations into sodomy allegations revealed intrigue.

Akullo said she made her conclusions based on the statements of the alleged victims and the pastors.

She was testifying at Buganda Road Court as witness number 18 in the case where six people, including four pastors, are accused of conspiring to tarnish Kayanja�s reputation.

�The pastors and alleged victims were suspects in a case of conspiracy and giving false information,� Akullo said.

She said she opened a separate file after analysing statements from the alleged victims and the accused, including Kayanja, who had also become a suspect.

Prosecution, led by Stephen Asaba, alleges that in 2008 at various places in Kampala, the accused �conspired to cause injury to Kayanja�s personality and reputation. The alleged victims are Ivan Akansiima, Brian Ntwatwa, Ronnie Mutebi, Samson Mukisa and Isaac Talemwa,

They all retracted their statements.

Accused are pastors Solomon Male of Arising for Christ Ministries, Martin Sempa of Makerere Community Church and Michael Kyazze and Robert Kayiira of Omega Healing Centre. Others are State House employee Dorothy Kyomuhendo and local musician David Mukalazi.

The trial is before Grade One Magistrate Patrick Wekesa.

Akullo said on May 22, 2009, she took over investigations into the case following a meeting chaired by Police chief Kale Kayihura.

She said Police investigations were extended to Kenya after Ntwatwa claimed in his initial statement that he was sodomised at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi.

However, she said Interpol Uganda did not get feedback from their Kenyan counterparts to ascertain whether Kayanja and Ntwatwa were ever booked into the hotel at the time.

Hearing continues today.

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Mrs Museveni was referred to in evidence and referred to as backing the smear campaign by two witnesses during a case before the Kampala magistrate’s court. Mr Kayanja has been charged with sodomy.

The witnesses told a fully packed court room that Mr David Mukalazi, an agent for three homophobic clerics namely, Martin Sempa, Solomon Male and Bob Kyazze offered to pay them Sh50million (US$19,000) to tell police detectives that Mr. Kayanja had sodomised them.

This was heard during the hearing of the criminal case in which the three leading Kampala evangelists have accused their colleague, Kayanja of sodomising his followers. Mr. Kayanja is the lead pastor of the Miracle Centre Cathedral, Lubaga an up-market evangelical Christian church in Kampala.

The accused pastors, their lawyers, Henry Ddungu and David Kaggwa, together with David Mukalazi and Deborah Kyomuhendo (agents of the accused) face charges of conspiring to injure Pastor Kayanja’s reputation. The two lawyers were included for allegedly commissioning false affidavits.

“Mr David Mukalazi told me he would pay us Sh50million to say I am a victim of Kayanja’s sodomy practices,” Mr Ivan Akansiima, one of the witnesses told Magistrate John Patrick Wekesa.

Another witness, Mr Kalema said he was approached by Mr Mukalazi to say that Kayanja had sodomised him. Both witnesses are orphans and are in the choir at Kayanja’s Church, the Miracle Centre, Lubaga. He said he was also told that the accusations were supported by “big people” in State House, including Mrs Museveni.

Mr Akansiima said he was made to, “falsely accuse Kayanja of sodomy. I then talked to my pastor Mr Martin Wampamba [and said] that I had been made to record a false statement against a man of God (Kayanja) at the Central Police Station in Kampala.”

He claimed that while recording his statement, a Criminal Investigation Officer briefly left the room and peeped at an earlier statement by Mr Mukalazi, accusing Kayanja of sodomising his followers. “But he (Mukalazi) had stated that Kayanja had tried to sodomise him. This was contrary to what I had been made to state [which was] that all of us were Kayanja’s sodomy victims,” Mr Akansiima said.

Kayanja was seen as one of the senior serving pastors among his contemporaries for keeping a clear track record,  something other churches disagreed with. His tormentors had ealier accused him of smuggling wines and spirits and evading taxes, but was later exenorated after establishing that the  drinks were not his ( Kayanja’s).

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