Court dismisses rape charge against Ugandan pastor

The High Court in Kampala has dropped the rape charge against Pastor Joseph Collins Twahirwa of Epikaizo Ministries International in the suburb of Bugoloobi due to lack of prosecution.

In dismissing the case on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Frances Abodo was free to re-file the charges once the team was ready to prosecute the case.

“Since the prosecution has failed to produce evidence in this case, the proceedings are terminated and the accused is accordingly released. The prosecution is free to reopen the charges as soon as it is ready,” Ajiji said.

The dismissal of the lawsuit was made at Twahirwa’s request through his lawyer Susan Wakabala.

Wakabala urged the court to apply the provisions of section 17(2) of the Courts Act and dismiss the case for lack of prosecution.

“Lord God, we pray that this case will be dismissed for lack of prosecution and that if the prosecution finds the victim, they can reopen the case. We pray for that,” Wakabala added.

Senior Public Prosecutor Irene Nakimbugwe argues that while they remain interested in pursuing the case, they have not been able to make contact with the alleged victim since then.

“We have written to the embassy asking them to put us in touch with her, but so far this has not been successful and without her statement we cannot pursue the case further,” said Nakimbugwe.

The woman has since written to the Nakawa-based prosecutor that she is no longer interested in the case.

However, the prosecutor says that this is a serious case and she should either appear in court or make an additional statement. at the police withdraw the complaint.

The dismissal of a charge due to lack of prosecution does not constitute an acquittal for the accused, since the prosecutor can re-instate the charge at any time.

Pastor Twahirwa was charged with the heinous crime of rape after the Latvian woman (name withheld) accused him of raping her.

In their statement recorded in Jinja Street The 43-year-old woman claimed that before leaving the country, she went to the police station in Kampala and raped Twahirwa in Munyonyo zone on December 12, 2022.

She said Twahirwa told her he wanted a baby and then pushed her onto the bed and allegedly raped her. The woman was on a fact-finding trip in Uganda.

The case

Prosecution alleged that Twahirwa had sexual intercourse with the woman without her consent on December 12, 2022, at Munyonyo Zone in Kampala District.

The crime of rape is a capital crime under the Criminal Code and is punishable by death if convicted..