The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Masaka, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Masaka High Court has granted a 15-million shillings cash bail to Reverend Father Deusdedit Ssekabira, the Masaka-based Catholic priest who has been in detention for over two months on charges of money laundering. The ruling comes after the state failed to demonstrate readiness to commence prosecution, prompting the court to release him temporarily pending further investigations.
Masaka resident Judge Victoria Nakintu ruled on Tuesday afternoon that Fr Ssekabira could be freed on bail, noting that the state had not shown sufficient cause to deny his temporary release.
The priest had previously been denied bail on January 27th after Senior State Attorney Deborah Itwau argued that the matter should proceed to an expedited trial.
However, during Tuesday’s hearing, Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Brian Kalinaki told the court that the state needed more time to finalize investigations, part of which involves gathering evidence from outside Uganda.
He emphasized that the state remained within the legal timeframe to collect all necessary materials for prosecution. Fr Ssekabira’s lawyers, Alexander Lule Nkima and Samuel Ssekyewa, urged the court to reconsider the earlier bail denial, arguing that the state’s delay suggested a lack of incriminating evidence.
Lule highlighted that their team was ready for an expeditious trial but was being hampered by the state’s slow preparation. For his bail, Fr Ssekabira presented Reverend Father Doctor Jude Juuko, Chancellor of Masaka Catholic Diocese, Joseph Ssewungu, MP for Kalungu West, and his younger brother, Andrew Matovu Kabulasoke, as sureties.
The court granted a cash bail of 15 million shillings and accepted each of the three sureties on a non-cash bond of 50 million shillings.
He was also ordered to deposit his passport with the court and report to the Masaka High Court Registrar monthly. In her ruling, Judge Nakintu noted that the state failed to convince the court that Fr Ssekabira would interfere with the investigation or fail to appear when required.
“The court has found his sureties substantial enough, and pleased they can be able to remind him to return to court if need arises. The applicant also demonstrated to the court he has a fixed place of abode and a known workplace, thereby being traceable,” the court ruled. Fr Ssekabira’s release was met with jubilation, chanting, and celebrations from dozens of faithful and priests attending the hearing. Fr Ssekabira was arrested on December 3rd and charged with money laundering for allegedly concealing 500 million shillings by disguising himself as the owner of the funds, knowing they were proceeds of crime.
The state alleges that he, along with others still at large, committed the offenses between 2023 and 2025 in various locations within and outside Meanwhile, Alexander Lule, the lawyer to Fr Ssekabira, doubts that the state has any substantive evidence to sustain prosecution.’
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