Two journalists who were detained early this month in Jinja for their alleged involvement in the murder of a local businessman, Shaban Malore have been granted bail.
The duo, Dennis Isabirye from Baba FM and his counterpart, Ivan Mutyaba from Busoga One FM appeared on Tuesday before the Jinja High court judge, Tom Chemutai, who granted them cash bail of Shillings 200,000 each.
Malore was shot dead on the day he and his family members had chosen to resolve a 20-year-long dispute over land and other property. The journalists were arrested after electronic evidence linked them to the individuals who communicated to Malore prior to his shooting.
They duo was charged with three counts of murder, conspiracy to commit a felony, and concealing the murder and remanded to Kirinya prisons. However, on Tuesday, the journalist applied for bail through their lawyer Andrew Mumbere from the Human Rights Network for Journalist-HRNJ and presented four sureties, which was granted.
Each surety executed a noncash bond of Shillings 10 million. Justice Chemutai asked the trio to return to the court on July 28th, 2022 for the mention of their case.
According to Robert Ssempala, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Network for Journalist-HRNJ, their legal team is committed to ensuring justice for all journalists, and efforts of adjudicating for the accused's complete freedom were underway.
