Freedom City Mall Stampede! Music Promoter Abtex Granted Bail
By Uganda Online Media
Makindye Chief Magistrate Court has released Abbey Musinguzi aka Abtex and Elvis Francis Jjuuko on bail. The two are batting charges related to the Freedom city stampede on new years eve that led to the death of 10 people and left eight others with injuries.
Abtex, who is charged alongside his MC Juuko Francis Elvis, who reportedly ordered the crowd inside Freedom City to go outside and watch the fireworks, which police say caused the stampede, appeared in Makindye Court this morning before magistrate Iga Adiru and pleaded not guilty to all counts of rash and neglect acts.
Through their lawyers, led by Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, the duo applied for bail. The court set cash bail at Sh2 million for each of them and non-cash bail at Sh20 million for sureties.
Abtex was sent to Luzira prison last week over negligence that saw 10 people including minors die during a stampede at Freedom City Mall on new year’s eve and later Police spokesperson Fred Enanga confirmed that they had arrested Abtex and were also hunting for other event organisers who were part of the fateful event.
According to Enanga, the stampede came when the MC of the event made an announcement for the revellers to move out to watch a fireworks display and return in one exit which exhibited negligence on the side of the organizers.
“Security had locked four other exits and entries and the revellers had to use one point of entry and exit. Therefore, several victims were trapped and tramped upon through the narrow passage which became a bottleneck for many, mostly juveniles,” Enanga said.
Following the arrest, Abtex was last week arraigned before the magistrate’s court in Makindye and eight counts related to negligence leading to the death of 10 people contrary to section 227 of the Penal Code Act were read to him.
According to the state prosecutor, Eunice Opia, Abtex who was the organizer of the concert in a manner so rush and negligent caused the death of nine people by closing other outlets of the venue leaving only one small gate which could not allow over 20,000 people to move easily out of the concert venue.
According to section 227 of the Penal Code Act, any person who, by any rash or negligent act not amounting to manslaughter, causes the death of another person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to a fine not exceeding seventy thousand shillings or to both such imprisonment and fine.
Section 228 states that any person who does any act with respect to, or omits to take proper precautions against, any probable danger, from any machinery of which he or she is solely or partly in charge commits a negligent act.
