The Acting Chief Registrar Pamela Lamunu has transferred the Senior Nakawa Court Chief Magistrate Erias Kakooza to Kiboga Magistrate Court with immediate effect.
Kakooza who was recently demoted from the office of the Assistant Court Registrar to Chief Magistrate has been directed to report to his new station next week.
The changes come days after Nakawa Chief Magistrates Christine Nantege, Esther Nyadoi and Kakooza held a private meeting with Lamunu who was assigned by the Chief Justice Owiny Dollo to occupy the position as they wait for the President to appoint a new chief registrar to replace Sarah Langa who was promoted and appointed the Judge of the High Court.
Highly placed sources in the judiciary revealed to this investigative website that Kakooza’s transfer might have resulted from the way he handled the prominent murder trial of city businessman Henry Katanga which resulted into the arrest and slapping criminal charges on Molly Katanga and her daughters Martha Nkwanzi Katanga, Patricia Kakwanza alias Tricia, their house help George Amanyire and Charles Otai a family medical doctor.
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No nonsense Principle State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya complained against Kakooza’s decision to release the two daughters, the house help and medical doctor who are facing charges of destroying evidence at the scene of Katanga’s murder which made them accessories to his murder.
Muwaganya said that Kakooza had no powers to entertain their bail application insisting that their matter was supposed to be handled by the Criminal Division of the High Court.
Working on the advice of his boss Justice Jane Frances Abodo, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Muwaganya filed an application for revision of Kakooza’s decision which was allowed by Justice Isaac Muwata. He ordered that the said files wholly be transferred to the High Court and the accused persons receive bail from the High Court.
Other sources also cited the ongoing treason trial of opposition strongman Dr Kizza Besigye, his political assistant Al-Hajji Obed Lutale and UPDF Officer Captain Denis Oola.
These sources allege that instead of Kakooza taking control of the controversial criminal file, he allocated it to his junior Nyadoi who recused herself from the proceedings citing social media harassment.
When Nyadoi refused the file, Kakooza allocated it to Nantege, another junior to him who was also scared of handling it.
She tried to allocate it to her junior Jonathan Tiyo, a Grade One Magistrate who also declined to preside over the matter.
Other sources claim that Kakooza was transferred to use his seniority in managing criminal and civil cases to clear the backlog and judicial incompetence at Kiboga Court which has placed judiciary in bad light even though President Museveni is closely following how criminal cases in that district especially those related to land are being handled.
Museveni recently directed the Chief Justice and his newly appointed deputy Justice Dr Flavian Zeija to sort-out the incompetence in handling land criminal related matters in Kiboga district.
