Buganda road court has stayed criminal fraud proceedings against celebrated city Pastor Franklin Mugisha Mondo until he is arrested and brought back in the country.
This after prosecution asked grade one Gladys Kamasanyu to struck off his name on the charge sheet in which Pastor Mondo is jointly charged with Pastor Siraj Ssemanda and lawyer Jimmy Arinaitwe in a 4.5 billion scam.
On the 4th of February this year, the court ordered police to arrest Pastor Mondo after failing to appear in court to take plea to the charges of obtaining money by false pretense and conspiracy to defraud despite being summoned three times.
His Lawyer David Lutalo had earlier told court that pastor Mondo is allegedly in South Africa for further health management as a COVID-19 recovering patient and would return back last month to face trial, but since then, the pastor has never returned as promised by his lawyer.
Pastor Mondo Mugisha is said to have conspired with Pastor Siraje Ssemanda and Arinaitwe to defraud from their followers and fellow pastors of 4.5 billion shillings claiming to offer them scholarships and jobs abroad whereas not.
Meanwhile, prosecution has slapped more 50 new fraud charges against Pastor Ssemanda and Arinaitwe which have bee distributed to different courts including Luwero, Kampala,Tororo and Lira where they were allegedly committed.
Court has adjourned to the 11th of this month for further mention of the case in Kampala and further remanded Pastor Ssemanda and Arinaitwe back Kitalya until then, while Nabbi Omukazi's bail has been extended until then.
Nabbi Omukazi was charged on the 11th of December 2020 for allegedly trying to help pastor Siraje Ssemanda escape prosecution after they were arrested at the Mutukula border trying to cross into Tanzania.
According to the charge sheet, pastor Siraje Ssemanda, and Arinaitwe and others still at large between 2017 and 2019 around Luwero and Kampala conspired to commit a felony to wit obtaining money by false pretence and Nabbi Omukazi on the 15th day of November 2020 between Kampala and Mutukula boarder in Kyotera district assisted pastor Siraj whom to her knowledge was guilty of an offence in order to help him escape an offence.
Prosecution states that in the month of February 2018 at various Pentecostal Churches and schools in Tororo district with intent to defraud pastor Siraje and others including those still on the run obtained 82,555,000 shillings from Geoffrey Owor Sues , a pastor and coordinator of all Pentecostal Churches in Tororo pretending that they would in turn pay half bursary school fees to various student/pupil, help build up churches and give the faithful start up capital for business whereas not.
Prosecution further states that between May and November 2018 at Revival Church in Bombo with intend to defraud, pastor Ssemanda obtained millions of shillings from several school directors and church followers by falsely pretending that he was going to give their students half bursary fees and money to start up businesses.