Fifth Accused Switches to Unsworn Testimony in Pastor Kayanja Defamation Case
Story by ; Ruth Anderah
The defence hearing in a case involving nine people accused of conspiring to defame Pastor Robert Kayanja and trespassing at Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral continued before the Mwanga II Magistrates Court, as the seventh accused, 23-year-old Peter Serugo, took the stand.
Serugo, who is serving a sentence for aggravated robbery in Luzira Prison, informed court that he would not take an oath despite earlier indicating in February that he would testify under oath. Court was informed that the record should reflect that he had willingly changed his mind.
Serugo becomes the fifth accused person to shift from sworn to unsworn testimony, a decision linked to concerns over intense cross-examination that would challenge the truthfulness of their accounts.
He faces charges of conspiracy to defeat justice, conspiracy to commit a felony, criminal trespass and giving false information to police.
According to his testimony, Serugo lived in Lungujja in 2017 and saw Pastor Kayanja on television distributing school bursaries and encouraging youths who had dropped out to join church programs. He said he later went to Rubaga Miracle Centre with his cousin and was introduced to the pastor’s night fellowship by a friend, Joel Karungi. He further alleged that Pastor Kayanja summoned him to his office, hugged and touched him inappropriately after promising him money and foreign travel.
Prosecution has since produced video clips during the trial showing Serugo and his co-accused confessing that they were members of a notorious street gang known as Kiffesi who hoped to reform their lives. The prosecution maintains that during the Covid-19 lockdown, the group was driven by financial motives and allegedly conspired with another city pastor who funded them to fabricate sodomy claims with the aim of damaging Pastor Kayanja’s reputation and ministry.
The accused deny the allegations and insist they were sexually violated, although medical reports from Mulago and Nsambya police doctors indicate no injuries to their anal sphincter muscles.
During the session, prosecution asked court to compel the defence to clarify how many additional witnesses would be presented to ensure proper trial preparation.
Grade One Magistrate Adams Byarugaba adjourned the hearing to November 6, when the last defence witness, Reagan Ssentongo, is expected to testify.
