KAMPALA-UGANDA/NEWSDAY: A murder case has been resurrected six years after it occurred with a Mulago referral hospital medical doctor facing the charges he committed while he was still a student of Makerere University.
Dr. Matthew Kirabo is accused of murdering his former girlfriend Desire Mirembe on July 6, 2015 after the couple reportedly conflicted in their love affair. Both were second year Makerere University School of medicine students.
Desire Mirembe, was then aged 19 and reports in 2015 said he was murdered by Dr. Kirabo who allegedly dumped her body in Mabira Forest in Buikwe District.
In 2015 Kirabo was arrested and on November 30, 2015, was committed to the High Court for trial. He was however granted bail and hearing of his case at Mukono High court had stalled and had never been fixed.
Desire Mirembe’s Family protests outside court in My 2021
“The case has finally been fixed for hearing on October 20, 2021 before High Court sitting at Mukono. The Accused was committed to High Court 6 years ago. The DPP has assembled sufficient evidence to warrant conviction,” Charles Twiine the spokesperson of the CID said on Monday.
Delayed justice had puzzled the relatives of Kirabo with the leading complainant, Emmanuel Musoke, Mirembe’s father infuriated that the suspect continued with his studies, graduated and was employed as a medical officer at Mulago Hospital.
By the time the suspect doctor is being arraigned in court, he had applied for his passport from the High court to enable him pursue further studies in the US.
But Principal Judge Flavian Zeija last week following the intervention of Col Edith Nakalema, the head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, who also attended the meeting fixed the hearing of the case for tomorrow (Wednesday).
“When I met the parent, I obviously apologised for the delay. Justice delayed is justice denied. It has taken quite a while, even if someone is innocent, or guilty, you need to have the case heard so that it is determined,” Zeija said.
He however, said apologising was ‘not to say that he condemning Kirabo because it is a trial and where the facts as to whether Kirabo committed the offence or not will have to be examined.
Col. Nakalema contacted the Director of Public Prosecutions who, she said, had agreed to organise a special court session.
Background
Mirembe was a resident of Akamwesi Hostel in Wandegeya from where she went missing. Mirembe’s mother who lives in the US received a message from her daughter’s phone that she had left for Jinja with a stranger but said she was scared.
When her mom attempted to call her line, nobody was picking.
“One of her friends called Kirabo immediately and put him on pressure to explain Mirembe’s whereabouts. Kirabo, however, confessed the murder to his uncle, a lecturer at Makerere University who offered to drive him to the Central Police Station in Kampala where he handed himself over to the Police,” Mirembe’s father says.
Kirabo then took the Police to recover Mirembe’s body in Mabira forest.
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