Masaka, Uganda: The Masaka High Court has granted bail to Fr Deusdedit Ssekabira, a Catholic priest who has spent over two months on remand over money laundering charges.
In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, February 10, Victoria Nakintu Katamba overruled objections raised by the prosecution and ordered the release of Fr. Ssekabira on bail, finding that the court had proper jurisdiction and that the sureties presented were substantial.
Fr. Ssekabira, 47, is accused of laundering Shs500 million, allegedly committed between 2023 and 2025 at Centenary Bank Masaka Branch. Prosecutors claim that the priest and others still at large concealed or disguised the true ownership of the funds, knowing or suspecting them to be proceeds of crime.
During proceedings, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions for Masaka Brian Kalinaki argued that the matter had not followed proper procedure to reach the High Court and that investigations were still incomplete due to the complexity of the offence, including the need to gather evidence from abroad.
However, defence lawyers Sam Ssekyewa and Alexander Lule countered that the High Court is the only legally mandated forum to hear bail applications for such offences, insisting the case was properly before court.
In her ruling, Justice Nakintu dismissed the prosecution’s objections, stating that the court had jurisdiction and that the sureties met the required legal threshold.
Strict Bail Conditions Set
The court granted Fr. Ssekabira bail on Shs15 million cash and Shs50 million non-cash, with each of the three sureties: Charles Jude Juuko, Andrew Matovu, and Joseph Gonzanga Ssewungu, bonded at Shs50 million non-cash.
Fr. Ssekabira was also ordered to deposit his passport with court and to report to the Registrar of the High Court every 28th day of the month as his trial continues.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the ruling, Mr. Ssekyewa welcomed the court’s decision, saying the continued detention of his client was unjustified.
“We are grateful that court granted bail to Fr. Ssekabira as the case proceeds. The State was not ready to proceed with trial and had not produced evidence as earlier directed. It was not right to continue holding him in prison,” Ssekyewa said.
Fr. Ssekabira, a curate attached to Bumangi Catholic Parish, was arrested on December 3 after being picked up by armed men from his office in Katwe, a suburb of Masaka City.
He is also the director of Universal Chastity Education Organisation, which offers counselling and support to HIV-affected children, and Uplift Primary School.
The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) later confirmed on December 14 that the priest was in military custody, citing investigations into alleged “subversive activities” against the state. The military said he would be produced before court and charged accordingly.
Fr. Ssekabira’s release on bail now shifts focus to the substantive trial as investigations continue.
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