Mengo Court: Boy Exposes Pastor Rwomushana’s Role in Linking Him to Robert Kayanja for Bunyoro “Sodomy Mission”

Fresh details have emerged in the ongoing criminal case involving Pastor Robert Kayanja, with one of the nine accused boys Reagan Ssentongo telling court that the Rubaga Miracle Centre preacher allegedly connected him to powerful Masindi pastor Robert Rwomushana Kibuuka after assigning him duties he described as part of a wider operation in the Bunyoro concerning homosexuality.

Ssentongo made the revelation on Monday while continuing his defence during re-examination by his lawyers from Ojambo & Ojambo Advocates before Mwanga II Chief Magistrate Adams Byarugaba at Mengo.

According to the young man, his journey to Kiryandongo began after Pastor Kayanja initially promised to make him the overall person in charge of security at the farm, having gone through police training at the Police training school in Kabarye.

He, however, told court that upon reaching the farm, Kayanja changed the arrangement and informed him that he would instead undergo training by a “Muzungu” before being made what he described as the “homosexual ambassador” for the Bunyoro region.

It was in that context, Ssentongo Reagan testified, that Kayanja connected him to Pastor Robert Rwomushana Kibuuka, whom he described as a powerful pastor in Bunyoro, a homosexual heading a Miracle Centre Church in Masindi.

The claim adds a new dimension to the boy’s earlier testimony about his alleged activities at Kayanja’s farm and his accusations that he was given responsibilities beyond ordinary security work.

The defence has previously relied heavily on digital evidence extracted from Reagan’s phone, with forensic testimony placing the court before a series of communications between Reagan and a number saved in his phone as “Mzee,” which the forensic expert linked to Kayanja. Earlier proceedings also saw disputes over deleted material and the interpretation of messages and videos recovered from the device.

During Monday’s re-examination, Ssentongo was also pressed to explain several messages he sent to Kayanja in which he complained that he was not living a good life despite having bills to pay.

He told court that the messages were a reminder to Kayanja about promises he said had been made to him.

“I told him that I was stressed and wanted to work because when he was sodomizing me he promised me a good life which he never fulfilled, and so I had to remind him,” Reagan told court.

He further explained a message in which he had told Kayanja, “I don’t want to hurt you because you’re a good father, and I love you, Mzee.”

Reagan said his reference to love was based on a relationship that had existed between him and the pastor.

“I told him that ‘I love you’ because we’re lovers.”

He further claimed that Kayanja had told him not to fear his wife [Jesca Kayanja] because, according to Reagan, the pastor had told him that he was not having sexual relations with her.

Reagan maintained that Kayanja had never formally terminated what he regarded as his appointment and that he was therefore still demanding the money he said had been promised to him.

He told court that he was initially working as a security guard at a monthly salary of UGX1 million and was also promised weekly  allowances of UGX50,000.

But Reagan alleged that the financial arrangement went beyond his security duties, saying he had also expected payment connected to what he described as the homosexual encounters with Kayanja.

According to him, when he realized that Kayanja was not prepared to pay the money he believed he was owed, he reduced his demand and asked the pastor to give him at least UGX4 million. He said he intended to at least start a small business with the money.

He claimed Kayanja still refused, instead wanting him to remain around so that the alleged sexual relationship could continue.

He also told court that at one point he tried to contact bloggers because he wanted to expose what he alleged was happening, adding that he told them that he had evidence against Kayanja.

The accused further said that he and others once reached out to Pastor Aloysius Bugingo, hoping he could intervene with Kayanja because the two pastors had previously been friends, an attempt, he testified, did not produce the assistance they expected.

At one point during Monday’s proceedings, Reagan repeatedly argued that the report which prosecutor Jonathan Muwaganya had relied on during cross-examination did not capture all the relevant messages between him and Kayanja.

Muwaganya interrupted and challenged him to respect court and stop attempting to conduct the proceedings according to his own preferred manner.

The prosecutor also challenged Reagan and his lawyers to demonstrate to court his repeated claim that the forensic report only captured messages that favoured the accusers while leaving out messages which, according to Reagan, could further implicate Kayanja.

The exchange highlighted the continuing battle over the digital evidence, with court having so far been presented with reports from two different forensic experts.

The forensic evidence has already produced some uncomfortable moments for Kayanja’s side. A police digital forensic analyst previously told court that material recovered from Reagan’s phone showed communication between him and a contact linked to Kayanja, while also testifying about deleted videos (believed to be ponographic), sent by Kayanja himself.

Monday’s proceedings also briefly shifted to the competence of defence witness Dr Bwambale Phenehas, a pathologist who was sworn in but whose qualifications and professional licensing were challenged by Muwaganya.

The prosecutor questioned whether Bwambale’s professional credentials and different licences were sufficient to establish his competence to testify on specialised medical examination issues.

Defence lawyers pushed back, arguing that the prosecution had not cited a specific legal provision barring the witness from testifying and relying on the Evidence Act to support their position.

Chief Magistrate Byarugaba ultimately directed that Bwambale present his academic transcripts for examination and indicated that any further inquiry into his competence could be undertaken by court.

Bwambale is expected to return to court on September 7, while an audio expert is expected to be presented for examination on August 24.

For Reagan, however, the most striking part of Monday’s testimony was his account of how his alleged role in Bunyoro came to be.

The case was adjourned to August 24th when another defence witness is expected to appear.