Burora bail application deferred over absence of chief magistrate

Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court has deferred to next week the bail application ruling for former Rubaga Division deputy resident city commissioner (RCC) Herbert Anderson Burora.

Today, Friday Burora appeared at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court for the ruling on his bail application, but chief magistrate Ronald Kayizzi did not show up. Burora is battling charges of hate speech and spreading malicious information.

Burora will re-appear in court next week on Thursday when the state prosecutor Richard Birivumbuka will inform court about the findings on the authenticity of his sureties. He appeared before the grade one magistrate Sanula Nambozo who adjourned the matter.

Burora is charged with six counts of hate speech and spreading malicious information to demean the person of the speaker of parliament Annet Anita Among. The prosecution alleges that between March and June 2024, in the areas of Kampala district or thereabout while using a computer via his X handle ‘@HarderHB’, Burora shared malicious information about Among indicating that she’s a torturer, murderer, and kidnapper, and extremely corrupt.

According to the prosecution, this kind of information is likely to ridicule, degrade, or demean and promote hostility against Among. Burora has since denied the charges against him and applied for bail for which the prosecution was expected to respond today.

Last week, he presented Yasin Katwere the managing director of Success Motors and his wife Georgina Burora as some of his sureties. Trouble for Burora who had served as a deputy RCC for more than five years in both Nakawa Division and Rubaga started around March when he started posting information condemning alleged corruption in parliament especially orchestrated by speaker Among.

He was accordingly suspended from the office in a March 14, 2024 letter to pave the way for investigations, and directed to hand over to the deputy RCC for Kampala Central. However, after being suspended for 28 days, Burora chose to resign on March 18, 2024, saying he wanted to protect his conscience.