On Monday, the prosecution in Miracle Centre Cathedral founder Robert Kayanja’s case made an about-turn, informing court that it would no longer challenge the testimony of a defence medical expert whose qualifications had earlier been questioned.
State prosecutor Jonathan Muwaganya told Mwanga II Chief Magistrate’s Court in Mengo that the prosecution had received instructions to allow Dr Phenehas Bwambale to give evidence.
The decision followed a clarification from the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council, which was asked by court to determine whether Bwambale, also a police officer at the rank of Senior Supremetenant of Police (SSP) was professionally authorized to conduct medical-legal examinations connected to sexual offences.
The Council established that Bwambale is registered as a dentist and pathologist, having obtained a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Makerere University in 2014 and subsequently completed a Master of Medicine in Pathology in 2020.
According to the Council, his training in pathology permits him to deal with pathological conditions arising from sexual offences.
This effectively resolved a dispute that had emerged when the prosecution questioned Bwambale’s competence to examine some of the young men who claim to have been repeatedly bumshafted by Kayanja. The doctor had conducted the examinations and completed Police Form 3A documents that the defence intends to rely on in presenting its case.
Bwambale is also a police officer attached to the Police Training School in Kabalye, Masindi, and his evidence is expected to focus on the medical findings from the examinations he carried out on the young men.
The case has already seen intense arguments over evidence, including a police digital forensic examination of material recovered from the phone of one of the accused persons, where a lot of ponographic stuff was allegedly found. The medical evidence is now expected to form another important part of the defence case.
Despite the prosecution clearing the way for Bwambale to testify, proceedings could not move forward because he was not present in court. He had earlier notified court that he would be in Mombasa for another engagement.
Defence lawyer Humphrey Mwesigye was also unavailable, prompting the court to adjourn the matter to September 7, when Bwambale is expected to return to the witness stand and explain what he discovered after the examination.
