Justice Michael Elubu of the Criminal Division of the High Court has dismissed the application filed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) seeking to auction properties worth billions of shillings owned by incarcerated city socialite Charles Olimu alias Sipapa
In the application, Chief State Attorney and also the Head of the DPP’s Asset Recovery Management Fund Annette Namatovu Ddungu told Court that the money which was going to be recovered from the sale of Sipapa’s properties was going to be deposited on the Fund’s Account in Bank of Uganda.
She explained that the move to sell Sipapa’s the properties was aimed at preserving its value and prevent its loss noting that court will guide on how to deal with the said money after determining the criminal cases Sipapa and his wife Shamira Rukia Nakiyemba are battling with.
According to court documents, the properties which the judge stopped from being sold include; Microwave, a gas burner cooker, a black Land Cruiser motor vehicle, a red Range Rover car registered in the names of Muhammed Fatuma, a red Jeep Wrangler registered to Cloud Holdings, and an orange wheelbarrow, a red Jeep Cherokee, silver Audi S5, and black Land Cruiser, along with various car parts (bumpers, lamps, tyres, radiators), electronics (CCTV recorder, laptop chargers), jewelry (watches, necklaces, bracelets), and other items like handbags and amplifiers.
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Namatovu told court that all the said properties are currently stored at the Kabalagala Police Station.
Others include tools and equipment namely drills (Milwaukee, Makita, Ryobi, Stramm), cutters (Chrome vanadium, plier cutters, Metabo machine), grinders (Black Decker), toolkits (Parkside kits, Bahco toolbox), an air compressor, camera jammer, motor vehicle parts (exhaust pipe silencer, suspender), assorted spanners, and a metallic box containing suspected gold metals.
Others are registration number plates (UBA 023U, UBG 015B, SSD 598 BP), an iPhone 13 Pro Max (1 unit), an iPhone 12 Pro Max (1 unit), two iPhone 11 Pro Max devices, and two MacBook Pro Air laptops.
In his evidence affidavit in support of the application, D/CPL Serulo Gyabi stated that he was part of the investigation team from Kabalagala police station who investigated the matter and listed that all these properties were recovered from Sipapa’s home at Kityo Close, Buwate LC1 village, Kira Town Council in Wakiso District.
He said that after their investigation, they forwarded the criminal files to DPP who sanctioned the aggravated Robbery charges and seven counts of Money Laundering against the accused persons.
He stated that investigations resulted from a complainant made at Kabalagala police station by Arok Nul Jacob Mayendit, a South Sudanese businessman and a resident of Bunga – Kawuku Zone, Makindye Division, Kampala city.
After a robbery at Arok’s home, a team of detectives investigating the alleged robbery, together with the complainant, used GPS to track the stolen Sky-Blue iPhone (Serial No: GONFNTUTOD42, Unique ID: 00008101-00010D381E69001E, IMEI:354245330575914, IMSI: 310260947343159, USER ICCID: 89256010000725024590) to Sipapa’s residence.
“On the same day, a black bag containing three laptops and other belongings taken from the complainant’s house was recovered beneath the mattress in the Respondents’ bedroom. Further searches of the home led to the recovery of several motor vehicle number plates, motor vehicles, motorcycles, a compressor for colour spraying, cash in South Sudanese pounds, Euros, and dollars, jewellery, and a metallic box containing suspected fake gold bars. These items were recorded in the search certificate,” the detective stated
Namatovu based on the affidavit evidence of Tumwesigye David, a principal Accountant in DPP’s Office who affirmed that the office holds and manages a special account with the Bank of Uganda number 003330148000002.
He explained that the said bank account receives deposits from the sale of quickly depreciating properties and allows for the transfer of funds upon conclusion of cases in court, or upon court orders and directives from the DPP.
He noted that the said bank account is subject to periodic audits by the Auditor General’s Office, and the funds are secure and cannot be mishandled in any manner.
Even though Sipapa and wife didn’t file affidavit evidence on opposing the application, their lawyers agreed with court that the DPP’s prayers were supposed to be made after conviction noting that granting the application would contravene Sipapa’s presumption of innocence as stipulated under Article 28 (3) (a) of the Constitution.
The judge noted that the court can only determine whether the properties in question or exhibits are proceeds of crime or instruments of crime after evaluating the entire evidence presented at the trial.
“The position here is that, apart from the fact that the trial is ongoing, the exhibited items now form part of the evidence on record against the respondents. In order to ensure an equality of arms and a fair trial, the defence should be able to challenge all the evidence, including the exhibit evidence, that has been tendered. To dispose of the exhibits before the Respondents have exhausted their defence would be prejudicial and unfair to them,” Justice Elubo stated while dismissing the application.
