Magistrate Rejects Bribe
By Solomon Muyita A KAMPALA magistrate has rejected a sh4m bribe from city businessman Moses Kalungi over a land dispute case. Grade One Magistrate Gaster K. Mugoya of the Mwanga II Road Magistrates Court in Kisenyi said Kalungi approached him twice last Thursday with an envelope containing the money. Kalungi owns many business enterprises, which include Kalungi Estates Ltd and Kalungi Plaza on William Street in the city centre. In his Friday ruling, Mugoya described the group as “fraudsters and cheats, who use a fraudulent mode of seeking justice”. “The likes of Beshumbusha, Birungi and Kalungi approached me yesterday (Thursday) in the presence of my clerk (Namatovu), with an envelope containing money, which I clearly refused twice,” Mugoya said. Naboth Beshumbusha is a court bailiff while Susie Birungi is Kalungi’s property manager. Mugoya warned against tempting judicial officers with bribes. “A bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous,” Mugoya said, quoting Deuteronomy 16: 18-20. Kalungi recently petitioned the court over a land case in which he seeks possession of a plot of land in Kisenyi allegedly belonging to Ahmed Saad, an elderly Somali national. Sources said someone sold it to Kalungi without Saad’s knowledge. The court heard the case in the absence of Saad, relying on a forged affidavit alleging that Saad had ignored summons to appear in court. Kalungi allegedly asked court to rule in his favour. However, Saad, who had earlier sued Kalungi in Nakawa High Court, appealed the ruling after court bailiffs tried to evict him. The court set aside the judgment on grounds that the suit was pending in a higher court. It ordered Kalungi to vacate the land and pay Saad’s application costs. Mugoya vowed to continue dispensing justice. Ends New Vision: Wednesday, 21st January, 2004
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