Brian Isiko at court today.
PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA
A 25 year old college student Brian Isiko who was convicted and sentenced to two 2 years in prison for stalking and expressing his love feelings to the Kabarole district woman MP Sylvia Rwabwogo has applied to be released on bail, as he waits the hearing of his appeal before the High Court.
Isiko has spent 26 days at Nagonjje prison having been convicted of cyber harassment and offensive communication on 5th/July 2018 by Buganda Road Court Grade One magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu.
However Isiko who pleaded guilty to the two offenses and accepted before the magistrate that he downloaded the MPs number from a website to start sending her love messages, has since challenged the 2 year imprisonment sentence describing it as harsh and excessive.
Through his lawyer Ramathan Waiswa, Isiko applied for bail before High Court giving nine grounds. Among them is the fact that he is a student whose continued education will be affected by the 2-year imprisonment term because there is a likely hood that the appeal may not be disposed off as soon as possible.
Isiko’s lawyer has also argued that his client suffered a great deal of injustice during trial before the lower court when his plea of not guilty was changed to a plea of guilty without following due process.
Isiko added that his appeal has high chances of success and he poses no danger to society given the fact that the offenses for which he was convicted for do not involve any personal violence.
He has presented 2 sureties: a UPDF Retired Capt. Reagan Muganza and his paternal uncle, the Kyambogo University Assistant Academic Registrar Godfrey Waako.
However the DPP, through state Attorney Gladys Macrina Nyanzi has opposed Isiko’s bail application on grounds that he has proved no exceptional circumstances of either old age or illness that would warrant his release on bail.
Kabalore Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Sylvia Rwabwogo. PHOTO BY ALEX ESAGALA
Nyanzi has further added that Isiko has neither brought proof in court that he is a student nor of his permanent place of residence except merely mentioning that he stays with his paternal grand mother Alice Matende.
READ: MP Rwabogo says she has had younger boys than her 25-year-old stalker
Justice Abodo will deliver her ruling on Isiko’s bail application on Friday August 3rd this week.
At the time of Isiko’s conviction before Buganda Road court, MP Rwabwogo told court that she started getting love messages and calls from a stranger a head of the controversial Constitution Amendment Bill that was passed in December to remove presidential age limits which made her think that someone wanted to hurt her.
The MP said at one time she received a text from her secret admirer asserting that he had failed to sleep at night but he was just thinking about her and yet this was the time the wave of kidnaps and murders of women was at the peak in the country.
MP Rwabwogo said she took up the matter with police at parliament which assigned her a guard and advised her to set up an appointment to meet the stalker.
The meeting was on June 11th , 2018, at Java House, Lugogo and indeed the Isiko showed up and from there he was arrested.
Isiko was sentenced to two-years on the count of cyber harassment and to nine-months for offensive communication but court ordered that all sentences should run concurrently.
However this sentence triggered mixed reactions in society to the extent that today at court the Namutumba district woman MP Mariam Naigaga publicly condemned her counterpart Rwabwogo of maliciously dragging Isiko to court .
