By our reporter
On Monday, NBS ‘One on one with Tamale Mirundi’ host Simon Muyanga Lutaya was sentenced to six months in Kirinya Prison after failing to pay court fines worth shs300 million.
Muyanga was arrested in Jinja following an arrest warrant which was issued in January by Jesse Byaruhanga, the Jinja High Court registrar.
The renowned media personality who contested on Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) ticket was fined after he lost the cases at Jinja High Court and Court of Appeal which he had filed against NRM’s Kenneth Lubogo’s victory in the 2016 Bulamogi constituency parliamentary elections.
Now, Lubogo has come out to dismiss claims that he is behind Muyanga’s troubles denying that he has never sent anyone to arrest or demand the court fine from the journalist.
In a whatsapp voice message, alleges that the arrest and detention was self orchestrated by Muyanga to get public sympathy.
Lubogo further claims that Lawyer Hassan Kamba who executed the arrest of Muyanga on his behalf had been dismissed from service sometime back and his new lawyer is Musa Sekana whom the legislator says to have given instructions to file documents in court indicating that he doesn’t want Muyanga’s money.
However, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze has soiled Lubogo’s defense saying that he is just panicking after being lashed at by the general public for his mischievous act but he is the real person behind Muyanga’s arrest.
According to Nambooze, a person can’t be held in a civil prison as a civil debtor unless the claimant pays for his upkeep at a cost of shs5,000 per day and in this case Lubogo is the claimant.
“Panicking and confused Lubogo can’t however explain who is paying Prison to hold Muyanga because a person can’t be held in a civil prison as a civil debtor unless the claimant pays for his upkeep at a cost of shs5,000 per day,” said Nambooze.
“Most probably my Honourable colleague Lubogo acted before thinking about the magnitude of his actions….one big mistake you can do in politics is to imprison an opponent…the public will shift sympathy to him/her and you will regret for life,”she added.
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