The Entebbe Division ‘A’ LC5 councilor, Richard Wamala Lule plus his four NRM supporters were on Wednesday afternoon convicted and fined Shs 15m after court found them guilty to assaulting and causing malicious damage to property of three journalists. The four other
convicts include Anold Mubiru 23, Hussein Waswa 22, Robert Tibamanya 36, and Joshua Kuteesa 29, all supporters of NRM in Entebbe Municipality.
The five were convicted by Entebbe Grade one Magistrate Mastulah Mulondo who found them guilty of four counts including three counts of assault and causing malicious damage to journalists’ property or
Apparatuses.
The Magistrate informed court that the seven prosecution witnesses gave adequate evidence to court pinning down the five convicts to assaulting journalists and causing malicious damage to a Nikon camera on top of tearing Journalists’ shirts with impunity.
The Magistrate told court that she concurs with prosecution Lawyer that cases of assaulting journalists are rampant in communities and that the convicts never showed remorsefulness during trial and to make matters worse they wasted court’s time and that it’s only the justice system that can help to check such unnecessary impunity inflicted against the poor journalists.
In her verdict, the Magistrate told court that on the three counts of assault each convict must compensate the three victims with Shs 3m and that all the five convicts must compensate the victims Shs 15m in total and in case of default each serves six months in jail while on the count of causing malicious damage to property the magistrate sentenced the five convicts to community service for 30days and in the event of default each convict shall serve four months in jail.
Meanwhile, court heard that on 4 March 2016 at Entebbe Municipal council headquarters, Richard Lule Wamala(councilor Entebbe Division ‘A’), Anold Mubiru 23, Hussein Waswa 22, Robert Tibamanya 36, Joshua Kuteesa 29, and others at large, all NRM mobilizers in Entebbe Municipality unlawfully and willingly assaulted Kigongo Sebalamu(Bukedde TV), Godfrey Ssempija( Bukedde paper) and George
William Kakooza( CBS FM). On the same day, the five convicts unlawfully destroyed a Nikon camera the property of Kigongo Sebalamu in addition to maliciously tearing his shirt into pieces.
