Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court has further remanded Bugweri District LCV Chairperson Kimarka Hamidu and broker Chris Olego to Luzira Prison after the State failed to present a Police file needed to respond to their intended bail application.
The two are facing charges of obtaining money by false pretence. The prosecution alleges that in 2025, Kimarka, Olego and others, still at large, while at Nanjing Hotel along Lugogo Bypass in Nakawa Division, obtained 592.2 million Shillings and USD 679,800 from Jiang Cailian, alias Nicole, the Sales Manager of Grace Textiles International Investments Limited, Comform Uganda Limited and Nice Textiles Uganda Limited.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons allegedly falsely represented that they could help the complainants secure a World Vision Uganda tender to supply bedsheets, blankets and mattresses, yet they had no such ability.
Kimarka and Olego appeared before Nakawa Chief Magistrate Esther Nyandoi on Wednesday for mention of the case. Their lawyers, led by Umaru Matovu, told the court they were ready to apply for bail and had already uploaded the supporting documents onto the Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS).
However, State Attorney Doreen Elima asked the court for an adjournment, saying the prosecution was not ready to proceed because the Police file containing details of the ongoing investigations had not been brought to court.
Elima told the court that the matter had been fixed for mention and that she was therefore not in a position to comment on the status of the investigations. She explained that the prosecutor who previously handled the case had the Police file, while she had only returned from leave a day before the proceedings.
The court was further told that because investigations are still ongoing, the file had been returned to the Police for further inquiries and had not yet been brought back to the prosecution.
Elima also said she had not had an opportunity to examine the documents the defence said had been uploaded onto ECCMIS and served on the prosecution. She argued that without the Police file and sufficient time to study the bail documents, she would not be in a position to properly respond to the application.
The defence opposed the adjournment, with Matovu arguing that his clients had already instructed him to apply for bail and that the prosecution had been notified in advance. He told the court that allowing the bail application to proceed would not prejudice the State because the relevant documents had already been filed and served.
Matovu also raised the health of the accused persons, telling the court that Olego was suffering from a mental illness requiring medical attention, while Kimarka was also experiencing other health complications that required treatment. The defence consequently asked the court to allow the bail application to proceed despite the absence of the Police file.
In her ruling, however, the Chief Magistrate said that although the accused persons had a right to apply for bail, the court also needed the relevant material to properly consider the application.
She noted that being ready to proceed with a bail application did not depend solely on the presence of the parties and their lawyers, but also on the availability of the documents required to guide the court.
The magistrate said it would be unfair to compel the prosecution to respond to the bail application when it had explained that the responsible prosecutor had only recently returned from leave and did not have the Police file.
She consequently deferred the case to September 23, 2026, when the parties are expected to return and address the matter. The two have been on remand at Luzira Prison since August-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
