Court Upholds DPP’s Takeover of Criminal Case Against Busoga King and Others in Alleged Illegal Marriage

The Jinja Grade One Magistrate’s Court has upheld the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to take over the criminal case against the Busoga king, William Wilberforce Gabula Kadhumbula Nadiope IV.

Kampala-based lawyer Hassan Male Mabirizi had filed a case against Nadiope and his wife, Jovia Mutesi, alleging they engaged in an “illegal marriage.” The lawsuit also included Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, who presided over the ceremony, and Buganda queen Nnaabagereka Sylvia Nagginda, who signed the marriage certificate as a witness. Mabirizi claimed that the ceremony at Christ Cathedral Bugembe was invalid because Nadiope was previously married to Alison Anna in England in December 2016. The charges against the accused included fictitious marriage, bigamy, unlawfully performing a marriage ceremony, and conspiracy to commit felonies.

The DPP, through the resident state attorney of Jinja, took over the case in a letter dated November 21, 2023. On Friday, Grade One Magistrate Anxious Atumanya dismissed Mabirizi’s application, stating that the law allows the DPP to take over proceedings at any stage without requiring court consent. Atumanya cited Section 43 (1) of the Magistrates Act Cap 16, which grants the DPP this authority.

Atumanya also found that Mabirizi had wrongly sued the DPP, noting that while it is a government department, it is not a corporate body that can be sued. She ruled that the DPP’s take-over letter was properly filed and that Mabirizi no longer had the standing to prosecute the case.

Following the decision, Mabirizi appealed to the High Court, seeking to have the ruling set aside. He argued that the magistrate ignored statutory and constitutional provisions and acted against substantive justice. The matter will return to court on July 3.