Mukono Magistrate Koburunga Patience has sent racing driver Ponsiano Lwakataka to two years in prison after he was convicted of forcefully breaking a resident’s perimeter wall and threatening with a firearm in 2018 at Kiwanga village in Goma division Mukono Municipality
Racing driver Ponsiano Lwakataka was arraigned with his brother John Ssekitooleko by Government prosecutor Johnathan Muwaganya.
The evidence included breaking George William Kawoya’s wall at Kiwanga village in Mukono, beating and harming a resident and threatening to shoot someone with a group of youths who are still at large.
Based on the testimony, Patience Koburunga sentenced Lwakatakaka to six months for malicious damage while his brother Sekitooleko was sentenced to four months in jail.
Before the second trial, Lwakatakaka asked for an opportunity to apologize and asked the judge to give him the appropriate punishment because he has so far served two months at Kawuga Prison, which the resident state attorney denied.
Lwakatakaka pleaded with the judge to allow him to go and settle the matter outside court for 15 minutes and he was allowed.
Once back in court, the judge sentenced Lwakatakaka to 16 months in jail on the charge of intimidation with a firearm and advised him to appeal if he disagreed with the sentence.
While being taken to custody, Lwakataka pleaded with his fellow motor racers to come and fight for him, because the case is intended to tarnish his image he acquired in the sport.
His lawyer, Samuel Eyotule, said they would appeal, because the ruling and the sentence are not in order citing that his clients were not served.
Samuel added that court illegally heard the case during Covid – 19 lockdown and they his clients were not in court and they issued a warrant of arrest against them without their presence