The Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala has acquitted Peace Mirembe, who had previously been sentenced to 12 months in prison for allegedly offering a bribe to a police officer in an attempt to secure the release of her parents on police bond. The case, presided over by Justice Lawrence Gidudu, was reexamined, ultimately leading to Mirembe’s release.
The incident that prompted this legal battle occurred on March 1st, 2021, when Mirembe’s parents were charged with murder and detained at Isingiro Police Station. Seeking her parents’ release, Mirembe engaged in a conversation with Francis Liiga, the OC station of Isingiro Central Police Station, using an interpreter. It was during this exchange that she allegedly offered a bribe of 2 million Ugandan Shillings to assist in securing her parents’ bond.
The court learned that Liiga promptly refused the alleged bribe, expressing his disapproval of such actions. However, as Mirembe was leaving Liiga’s office, she was unexpectedly summoned back but declined the request. Following her refusal, she was arrested in a nearby restaurant and charged with attempting to offer a 2 million Shilling bribe. The police discovered 3.5 million Shillings in her bag during a search.
Mirembe was subsequently charged, tried, and convicted by Grade One Magistrate Esther Asiimwe, who sentenced her to 12 months’ imprisonment on July 3rd, 2023. Unsatisfied with this outcome, Mirembe pursued an appeal to the High Court, initially represented by a lawyer named Latif Wakiku. However, her appeal was dismissed after it was revealed that Wakiku was not a qualified advocate. Undeterred, Mirembe chose to proceed with her appeal, this time representing herself.
In her appeal, she argued that the trial magistrate had made legal and factual errors by failing to assess the defense evidence in comparison to the prosecution’s, resulting in an incorrect conclusion. She also criticized the trial magistrate for convicting her based on uncorroborated evidence, asserting that it had led to a miscarriage of justice.
On Monday, Justice Gidudu delivered his verdict, stating that the prosecution witnesses had no knowledge of the case’s investigation and had merely acted upon Liiga’s instructions. Gidudu questioned Liiga’s actions in the case, raising doubts about the circumstances.
Justice Gidudu stated, “They only acted on Prosecution Witness 1/Liiga’s instructions. They knew nothing about the investigation done to confirm PW1’s allegations that the appellant offered him a bribe.” He further questioned Liiga’s conduct, asking why he did not arrest Mirembe red-handed if she had offered a bribe, and why he attempted to confiscate money from her if he had initially declined a bribe of 2 million Shillings.
These inquiries led Gidudu to cast doubt on Liiga’s allegations. He noted, “He was a senior police officer who should have allowed the appellant to pull out the money from her bag, count it, and place it on the table before arresting her in the presence of her interpreter. That would be the natural expectation of the conduct of a police officer. The fact that the interpreter is out of the picture yet he is the one that communicated the bribery offer renders PW1’s evidence suspect in regard to the actus reus(guilty mind).”
Consequently, Gidudu ordered the immediate release of Mirembe and annulled her prior conviction.
