Justice Susan Abinyo of the Commercial Division of the High Court has dismissed with cost the application filed by city pastor Grivas Kiwanuka Musisi of the Prayer Palace Ministries who is also the proprietor of Dunamis Broadcasting limited against a sharp woman Rita Namalwa and her husband Daniel Kabanda.
Musisi through his lawyers led by Adolf Akugizibwe wanted the presiding judge to overturn the decision of the Assistant Registrar so that he is granted permission to attach and auction all properties recovered from Namalwa when she was arrested by police after complaint.
Lawyers based on the statements recorded at police by Namalwa where she confirmed that the said properties which they wanted to auction were purchased from the Shs700m she fraudulently received from Pastor Musisi.
They disclosed that their client is likely to lose all her money because she was planning to sell all the said properties before the conclusion of the cases filed against her and her husband in the courts of law.
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Among the properties which the pastor wanted to auction to recover part of his money include those he recovered from Namalwana Melthan Hair and Cosmetic shop business, motor vehicle registration number UBP 528U Volkswagen Touareg and others.
In her defence, Namalwa through her lawyers led by John Mutumba protested the application insisting that the said properties are solely owned by their client and there is no evidence to prove that the money she used to purchase them came from the deals the pastor entered into with her husband who is on run.
She challenged Pastor Musisi’s lawyers to prove that the said money was ever deposited on her two bank accounts which are No. 0100215447900 in Standard Chartered Bank and No. 3200889442 in Centenary Bank.
She pleaded with the judge not to allow the said application against her noting that the said properties are her only source of income given that she is a single mother and she is using them to take care of her three school going children.
She added that there is no threat that she is planning to run out of the country. She divulged that she owns a home at Bulindo in Kira Municipality and has no passport which she can use to run out of the country.
The judge agreed with Namalwa noting that the applicant failed to produce evidence proving that Namalwa is planning to sell the said property and she is also planning to run out of the country.
“This Court finds that the Appellants have therefore failed to discharge the burden of proof to the required standard in civil matters, which is on a balance of probabilities that the conduct of the 2nd Respondent is likely to obstruct and or delay the execution of a decree that may be obtained against the 2nd Respondent,” the judge stated.
The judge wondered why the pastor wanted to auction the respondent’s properties before court pronounces itself on the matter filed against her. He ordered police to speed up the hunting of Namalwa’s husband who is in the centre of the fraud.
She directed Namalwa’s husband’s lawyers to deposit a security for cost of Shs50m if they want to challenge the suit filed against him by pastor Musisi.
According to court records, between 2020 and 2024, Namalwa and her husband approached Pastor Musisi purporting to work with UCC and fraudulently obtained Shs700m from him on the grounds of providing him with two television licenses and all equipment to run two TV stations in Uganda.
This resulted from an application Pastor Musisi filed at UCC for a license on April 3, 2024, to operate a television broadcast as required under Section 23 of the UCC Act.
The then Acting UCC Executive Director Irene Kaggwa authorized the commission to commence the licensing process for Dunamis Television.
In the process, Kabanda introduced himself to Musisi as a telecommunication engineer employed by UCC who was authorized to supervise the payments and monitor the operation of the machinery for the applicant’s Television.
Namalwa also introduced herself to Musisi as the Personal Assistant to Kaggwa and through that conversation, persuaded Musisi to give them the said amount of money.
However, after learning about the complaint filed against him at police, Kabanda went into hiding and since 2024, police has been hunting him for him.
