By Editorial,
The Masaka High Court has granted a 15-million shillings cash bail to Reverend Father Deusdedit Ssekabira, the Masaka-based Catholic priest who has been in detention for over two months on charges of money laundering.
The ruling comes after the state failed to demonstrate readiness to commence prosecution, prompting the court to release him temporarily pending further investigations.
Masaka resident Judge Victoria Nakintu ruled yesterday afternoon that Fr. Ssekabira could be freed on bail, noting that the state had not shown sufficient cause to deny his temporary release.
The priest had previously been denied bail on January 27th after Senior State Attorney Deborah Itwau argued that the matter should proceed to an expedited trial.
However, during yesterday’s hearing, Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Brian Kalinaki told the court that the state needed more time to finalize investigations, part of which involves gathering evidence from outside Uganda.
Fr Ssekabira’s lawyers, Alexander Lule Nkima and Samuel Ssekyewa, urged the court to reconsider the earlier bail denial, arguing that the state’s delay suggested a lack of incriminating evidence. Ssekyewa speaking…
The court granted a cash bail of 15 million shillings and accepted each of the three sureties on a non-cash bond of 50 million shillings. End