Denial by Alleged Henchmen: No Association with Accused Youth in Pastor Kayanja's Case

Denial by Alleged Henchmen: No Association with Accused Youth in Pastor Kayanja's Case - Trusted News Uganda

Two alleged associates of Pastor Ssenyonga deny any involvement in the case involving nine youths accused of falsely accusing Pastor Robert Kayanja of sodomy.

By Lubowa Babu Hussein

July 7, 2025 at 11:59 PM

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Key Takeaways

Aggrey Kanene and Jamil Mwanda, two of the accused, testified in their defense on 7th July in the case of false accusations against Pastor Robert Kayanja.
Both Kanene and Mwanda denied the charges against them, citing unexpected summons and lack of prior association with the youth involved in the case.
Pastor Kayanja expressed frustration over repeated false accusations of sodomy, referring to previous cases in 2010 and 2013 where he was falsely accused and the accused parties received lenient sentences.
In the 2010 case, five pastors were found guilty of falsely accusing Pastor Kayanja but were only sentenced to 100 hours of community service.
In the 2013 case, two individuals were handed non-deterrent sentences for attempting to bribe a doctor to conclude that they had been sodomized.

The court hearing resumed on 07th July after one of the accused, Aggrey Kanene, appeared before the court. The hearing was postponed last month due to Kanene's absence, allegedly due to illness. Nine individuals, including Peter Sserugo, Reagan Ssentongo, Khalifa Labeeb, Alex Wakamala, Martins Kagolo, Israel Wasswa, Jamil Mwanda, and Aggrey Kinene, are accused of falsely accusing Pastor Robert Kayanja of sodomy.

On 2nd July, the court was expected to hear testimony from a second accused, with 24-year-old Martins Kagoro giving an unsworn testimony, accusing Pastor Kayanja of luring him into unnatural anal offences by promising him travel and money. In his October testimony, Pastor Kayanja refuted the accusations, alleging a conspiracy to frame him, linking one of the accused, Israel Wasswa, to Pastor Ssenyonga, a longtime rival.

Pastor Kayanja expressed frustration over the repeated false accusations against him, citing previous cases in 2010 and 2013, where he was falsely accused of sodomy. In the 2010 case, five pastors were found guilty of falsely accusing him but were only sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In the 2013 case, two individuals were handed non-deterrent sentences for attempting to bribe a doctor to conclude that they had been sodomized.

Yesterday, 7th July, Aggrey Kanene and Jamil Mwanda testified in their defense before Mwanga II court, presided over by Judge Adams Byarugaba. Both denied the charges against them, echoing the denial of Simon Peter in the Bible who denied Jesus three times. Kanene, a 54-year-old Musoga, claimed that he was summoned to court unexpectedly, having been informed by unknown individuals seeking him at his home and a friend who was contacted by the Old Kampala police.

According to Kanene, he only came to know the youth involved in the case when he saw them, and he finds it surprising that he is linked to them. Jamil Mwanda, on the other hand, claimed that he only knew the youths when they were accused of theft by Adam Sankara and joined him in a cell at the Old Kampala police station. He identified the suspects as Peter Sserugo, Martins Kagolo, Reagan Ssentongo, among others.

Mwanda stated that he commenced to communicate with some of the suspects regarding their matter after his release and informed relevant authorities, including "Cohament", and later focused on his work. According to Jamil, it is against this background that he was involved in Robert Kayanja's case.