The High Court Tuesday morning postponed to Friday the hearing of the appeal challenging a lower court’s decision to grant bail to former State Minister for Mining, Evode Imena. The decision was taken after Imena requested for more time to prepare his defence in relation to the state’s petition challenging his bail.
The High Court Tuesday morning postponed to Friday the hearing of the appeal challenging a lower court’s decision to grant bail to former State Minister for Mining, Evode Imena.
The decision was taken after Imena requested for more time to prepare his defence in relation to the state’s petition challenging his bail.
He said he was notified of the prosecution’s appeal on Friday last week and therefore did not have enough time to look through the latter’s submissions.
Prosecution did not object and said the law on criminal procedures allows a defendant to prepare for hearings for a minimum of eight days.
The Nyarugenge Intermediate Court on February 20 granted bail to Imena in a case in which he’s accused of issuing a mining permit while he was still a cabinet minister.
The court dismissed submissions by prosecution alluding to the direct involvement of the ex-minister in a shoddy mining deal.
Prosecution had argued that Imena abused his office by colluding with others in the creation of a mining company, whose owners were spouses to his subordinates; Francis Kayumba and Joseph Kagabo, who are now co-defendants in the case.
Kayumba and Kagabo were denied bail by the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court and subsequently remanded for 30 more days to allow for more investigations before the case could begin in substance.
The two co-accused also appealed the decision to the High Court and their applications will be considered on Friday along with Imena’s appeal hearing.