City Hall Court in Kampala has acquitted three people accused of obtaining Shs8.3 million from former Buhweju West MP Ephraim Biraro Ganshanga in a purported deal to clear a gift allegedly sent to him from Germany.
Senior Principal Grade One Magistrate Aisu Nicholas dismissed the charges against Obadia Ainebyona, an Airtel Money agent, Leticia Nuwasasira, an unemployed person, and Christopher Turyamureeba, LC1 chairman of Cell Rwamiyonga, Rwampara District, after finding that the prosecution had failed to link any of them to the alleged false representation that caused Mr Biraro to part with his money.
The trio had been jointly charged with obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The prosecution alleged that on August 7, 2025, at Kihangire Village in Mwizi Sub-county, Rwampara District, the accused and others still at large obtained Shs8.365 million from Mr Biraro by falsely claiming that they would clear his gift package from Entebbe International Airport.
They all denied the charges.
The prosecution called four witnesses, including Mr Biraro, police officers and a forensic examiner, before closing its case.
However, in his ruling delivered on Monday, Magistrate Aisu said the evidence pointed to another person identified as Anthony as the individual who allegedly initiated the transaction and made the false representation.
‘Did any of the accused make a statement to the complainant, well knowing that it was not true? No!’ the magistrate ruled.
‘Did the accused initiate the transaction or representation? Again, the answer going by the evidence is no.’
The court further found that Mr Biraro had not passed ownership of the money to any of the three accused persons and that there was no evidence making them responsible for the alleged offence.
According to the ruling, Mr Biraro had been contacted over a gift allegedly sent to him from Germany by a person he did not personally know. He was allegedly informed that the package had to be cleared from the airport, prompting him to send Shs8.365 million.
The court found that the representation concerning the gift and its clearance was false and that Anthony knew it was false.
However, Magistrate Aisu said the prosecution had failed to establish that the three accused persons were the people behind the representation or that they had initiated the transaction.
‘The right accused should have been Anthony who was never arrested and produced before court,’ the magistrate said.
The court also dismissed the conspiracy charge, reasoning that the prosecution had not established the substantive offence against the accused.
‘There can never be a conspiracy to commit an offence by persons who in the first place never made a false statement to the victim well knowing the statement to be false,’ the magistrate ruled.
The magistrate also raised a jurisdictional issue, finding that the charge sheet showed that the alleged offence occurred in Rwampara District and that the relevant provisions of the Magistrates Courts Act and the 2024 Magisterial Areas and Magistrates Courts Instrument placed jurisdiction over the matter in a court in Rwampara rather than City Hall Court.
Magistrate Aisu said the prosecution evidence did not meet the threshold required to place the accused on their defence.
He cited the principle that a prima facie case is established only where the evidence is sufficient for a properly directed court to convict if the accused offered no explanation.
‘I have not found any evidence to prove all the ingredients of the offence so that this court could safely convict the accused if they offered no explanation,’ he ruled.
The court consequently dismissed the case against each of the three accused and acquitted them forthwith.
The court explained to the parties their right of appeal.