Court of Appeal to Hear DPP’s Appeal Against Suspension of Prosecution for Land Dealer Muhammad Kamoga

The Court of Appeal is poised to adjudicate on an appeal filed by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), contesting a High Court order that suspended the criminal trial of land dealer Muhammad Kamoga before the Magistrates Court in Entebbe, Wakiso District.

In 2023, the High Court intervened, halting Kamoga’s prosecution on eight charges spanning two separate case files. These charges relate to the alleged fraudulent transfer of land titles and forgery of businessman Peter Bibangamba’s signature on land transfer documents for a 200-acre plot in Bukaaya, Katabi Town Council, Wakiso District.

The DPP promptly appealed against the High Court’s decision, scheduling the hearing for July 24, 2024. A notice issued on July 11, 2024, by the court registrar, Lillian Bucyana, summoned both the DPP and Kamoga, represented by his legal team, to attend the hearing before a three-member panel of judges—Fredrick Egonda Ntende, Cheborion Barishaki, and Asa Mugenyi.

The notice explicitly stated, “If no appearance is made on your behalf, by yourself/ your pleader or by someone by law authorized to act for you, the hearing will proceed in your absence.”

In its appeal, the DPP argues that the High Court erred in granting Kamoga’s application for a stay of proceedings, asserting that Kamoga lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to file such an application without a prior order, conviction, or sentence from the lower court. The DPP contends that the stay order was an abuse of court processes aimed at delaying criminal justice proceedings, thereby undermining the constitutional powers vested in the DPP under Article 120.

The DPP seeks the Court of Appeal’s intervention to nullify the High Court’s decision, thereby reinstating the criminal case against Kamoga at the Entebbe Chief Magistrate’s Court for adjudication.

Previously, in September 2023, Kamoga had been arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Entebbe on charges including forgery, uttering false documents, obtaining registration by false pretenses, malicious damage to property, and unlawful eviction. These charges stem from allegations that Kamoga forged transfer documents and falsely obtained land registrations in Wakiso.

The state alleges that on multiple occasions, Kamoga falsified transfer forms and deceived authorities into registering land purportedly transferred to him by businessman Peter Bibangamba, actions which form the basis of the pending criminal charges.

The appeal proceedings are anticipated to provide clarity on the legal standing of Kamoga’s case and the extent to which High Court interventions can affect ongoing criminal proceedings, setting a potential precedent for similar cases in Uganda’s judicial landscape