Owner of collapsed building charged with 19 counts

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The owner of the building which collapsed killing 13 people in Makindye has been charged with 19 counts.

Abraham Kalanzi, aged 31-year-old, the owner of the collapsed building was charged before the Makindye One Magistrate Edith Mbabazi. He was charged alongside Engineer Christopher Bandi Ruhambya 55.

The charges include; erecting a building without a permit , causing accidents on a construction site and refusal to comply with a notice issued by a building committee to halt construction in December last year.

Court heard that the accused persons injured four people including Kenneth Mitana and three others only identified as Umar, Kabanda and Isma on May 9th, 2020 when the building they were constructing collapsed in Kiwempe zone in Makindye division.

The accused persons denied the charges against them and asked to be released on bail.

Through their lawyers Anthony Wameli and Rodgers Muhumuza, the accused persons have told the court that the offences against them are bailable by the court.

However, on the engineer’s case, Wameli argued that he is of advanced age and he is also suffering from chronic illness and needs to seek treatment when not in prison.

They later presented two sureties each to prove that they will comply with any conditions put against them. Kalanzi has presented his wife Flavia Nakasaga, John Paul Tumukunde an Accountant at Salova International Builders Uganda limited as his sureties whereas Ruhambya has presented his brother and businessman Edward Atugonza and John Simbwa former Member of Parliament.

Mbabazi granted them a cash bail of 1.5 million shillings each.

In December 2019, the National Building Review Board Committee issued a notice to the accused persons directing them to stop the building operations at the site but they refused to comply and went on to elect a four-storeyed building without permission contrary to the Building Control Act of 2013.

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