The trial of murder key suspect Mathew Kanyamunyu and his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari has been adjourned indefinitely after presiding judge Stephen Mubiru returned back to his duty station as Gulu resident judge.
Kanyamunyu and Munwangari are accused of shooting dead child rights activist, Kenneth Akena in 2016 after he reportedly scratched Kanyamunyu’s vehicle around Lugogo in Nakawa Division.
After hearing of the 13th prosecution witness, the trial of the suspects which was part of a special criminal court session presided over by justice Mubiru was this afternoon adjourned indefinitely after the session came to an end. Mubiru, now returns to Gulu to handle cases within his jurisdiction.
As a result, the trial will now be pushed to another convenient session whose dates are not yet fixed, a development which might require that the trial starts afresh. John Paul Akena, one of the brothers to the deceased said that the adjournment spells doom because to them, it tantamount to the denial of justice. He, however, hastens to add that the family will continue waiting with hope for justice.
Before the adjournment, the state prosecutors led by Jonathan Muwaganya presented their 13th witness; detective assistant inspector of police Steven Walimbwa who was the investigating officer in the alleged murder.
He said that on November 12, 2016, he got instructions from his boss, detective assistant superintendent of police Godwin Agaba, the head of the Criminal Investigations Department at Jinja Road police station requiring him to go to Norvik hospital and take Akena’s body to the City Mortuary for postmortem.
Walimbwa said the examination was done by two doctors and he witnessed a projectile being removed from Akena’s rectum and seven mops. He told the court that while there, detective Seargent Haruna Mugisha took pictures of the events in the presence of the deceased’s brother.
He added that later, he went to Wandegeya police station where fellow detectives handed to him some exhibits including Kanyamunyu and Akena’s cars, two mobile phones, a bunch of keys, a knife, a right-handed shoe, black dress and navy blue trouser with its coat.
The court further heard that Walimbwa got an order from the directorate of public prosecution to release the car to Kanyamunyu which was done in May 2018. Walimbwa narrated that he wrote to the commissioner in charge of private firearms in the ministry of Internal Affairs seeking to find out whether Kanyamunyu could have ever acquired a license to possess a firearm.
But the commissioner in charge of firearms reportedly wrote back saying that they didn’t have any record indicating that Kanyamunyu has ever applied for a gun or been licensed to have one.
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