Two court assessors have advised High Court Judge Margaret Mutonyi to acquit the lone accused person in the murder case of former Buyende DPC, Muhammad Kirumira and his friend, Resty Nalinya Mbabazi.
The court assessors, Ms Jacqueline Nabuufu and Ms Jacqueline Nafula, in their joint opinion that they rendered to court on March 28, reasoned that the evidence of the 16 prosecution witnesses did not place the accused, Mr Abubakar Kalungi, at the crime scene.
“My lady, this is a joint assessor’s opinion…on the fourth ingredient my lord, none of the witnesses brought to this court, placed the accused (A1) at the scene of crime,” Ms Nabuufu, who read out the opinion, told Justice Mutonyi.
Adding: “My lord, we are not convinced of the participation of the accused (Mr Kalungi). We, therefore, advise this honorable court to find the accused person not guilty of the offence charged and acquit him accordingly, we so advise.”
However, the opinion of the assessors does not bind the judge in any way and the judge may depart from it, giving his or her reasons.
