Court has ordered police to arrest Busiro North Member of Parliament (MP) Paul Nsubuga over failure to turn up for the hearing of his case of alleged theft.
Buganda Road Court Grade One magistrate, Siena Owomugisha’s decision was prompted by the state’s submission that the legislator had on several occasions failed to attend court and neither have his sureties.
“The failure of the accused person to show up in court is a delaying tactic of the court proceedings. I hereby issue a warrant of arrest against Hon Nsubuga. Police should arrest him on sight,” Ms Owomugisha ruled.
Ms Owomugisha also issued criminal summons against the legislator’s sureties before adjourning the matter to August 12.
However, the legislator through his lawyer, Ms Juliet Nampeera, told court that he was down with malaria and was advised by the doctor to rest for three days, which started on Wednesday.
Ms Nampeera tendered in a medical form to back up her submission.
Prosecution led by Ms Judith Nyamwiza objected to the submission reasoning that it is not the lawyer’s duty to inform court of the whereabouts of an accused person but rather the duty of the sureties.
“It is the duty of the sureties to inform court the whereabouts of the person they stood for but they have failed to fulfill their duty,” she said.
Prosecution states that Mr Nsubuga, a resident of Nansana in Wakiso District, on June 3, 2019 at Eseria building Nakasero opposite ShopRite, stole a mobile phone valued at Shs80,000- loaded with Shs4.5 million. The phone belonged to one Nicholas Karuhanga.
According to the evidence on Court records, CCTV footage on the building allegedly captured the legislator using his newspapers to cover the alleged phone before stealing it.
The first prosecution witness, Ms Gloria Nangendo, a former mobile money agent told court at the last hearing of the case, that the legislator stole the phone while disguising as a customer.
Court heard that on that fateful day, Nsubuga, who was by then not an MP went to Nangendo claiming that he wanted to buy a Nokia phone, and as she laid her small mobile phone down to try and get him the phone he was interested in, she turned around only to find him gone with the phone.
Nangendo further told court that when she realised her phone was missing, she ran to the MTN and Airtel service centers to block the telephone numbers in the said phone, however by the time she blocked the Airtel line, Nsubuga had allegedly already withdrawn Shs 4.5 million that was on the line.
