Sodomy case: Pastor Male arrested, Sempa flees

By Chris Kiwawulo
and Edward Anyoli

PASTOR Solomon Male of Arise for Christ Ministry was arrested yesterday over reports that Pastor Robert Kayanja sodomised young boys.

Plain clothes detectives stormed Male’s office on the second floor of Span House in Kampala at around 1:30pm and asked him to go with them to Central Police Station (CPS).

Male’s pleas that he was busy attending to his clients, who needed counselling services, fell on deaf ears.
He was later driven to CPS in a Saloon car with private registration numbers.

At CPS, the detectives informed Male that he was heading to Buganda Road Court to be charged. That is when he demanded to notify his lawyers.

His arrest followed advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution that Male, together with seven others, be charged for reportedly making false allegations against Pastor Robert Kayanja.

In a letter to the director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), principal state attorney Margaret Nakigudde said pastors Male, Martin Ssempa, Bob Kayira, Michael Kyazze, their lawyers, Henry Ddungu and David Kaggwa, together with David Mukalazi and Deborah Kyomuhendo face charges of conspiring to injure Pastor Kayanja’s reputation.

The two lawyers were included for allegedly commissioning false affidavits.

Nakigudde said four sodomy files opened against Kayanja at CPS were closed for lack of evidence to warrant prosecution, and that Robson Matovu, together with all the alleged sodomy victims were medically examined but no evidence of anal penetration was found.

When the cops whisked Male from CPS to Buganda Road Court at around 3:20pm, he was instead locked up in a cell up to 5:00pm when the Resident State Attorney Baxter David Bakibinga informed them that his (Male’s) file had not been sanctioned.

Male’s lawyer, Ddungu, who earlier responded to Police summons, was also locked up in the cell until Bakibinga broke the news.

The cops then took Male and Ddungu to CPS. Ddungu was released immediately since he had earlier been granted Police bond. Male spent about an hour with the Police as they processed his bond papers.

Male kept on chanting: “We shall stand firm against sodomy.”

Unconfirmed reports indicated that Police had earlier in the day been hunting for Pastor Ssempa, but he reportedly eluded them.

SIU head Grace Akullo said Male was arrested because he had failed to honour several Police summons.