Hope dashed on Friday afternoon for Pastor Benjamin Oteka, the Gulu pastor convicted and sentenced to two years in jail for battering his American wife. Oteka had hoped that on Friday he would get temporarily relief after his lawyers argued for a bail application before Justice Vincent Okwanga, the Gulu resident High Court judge. But Justice Okwanga had other ideas: he sent Pastor Oteka back to jail.
Dressed in a blue suit and a white chequered shirt and mobbed by his flocks in a packed courtroom, Pastor Oteka, 36, had presented three sureties, two junior pastors from his Faith Centre Cathedral Church to secure temporary freedom after he was convicted of two counts of threatening violence.
Oteka was convicted by the Gulu Chief Magistrate Deogratious John Ssejemba on June 16, 2017 for assaulting his estranged American wife, Carol Ward, 53, also a Pastor and another American citizen identified as Lisa Creck.
Oteka is currently serving a 2-year and six month jail term at the Gulu Central Government Prisons.
Oteka through his lawyer, Dalton Charles Opwonya of Opwonya & Co. Advocates protested both the conviction and sentence by Gulu Chief Magistrate’s Court describing it as harsh and on June 20 he appealed the Chief Magistrate’s ruling before the Gulu High.
Oteka also applied to the High Court seeking to be released on bail pending the hearing of his appeal against the lower court verdict.
Oteka listed five grounds on which he wished to be released on bail. Among them is that he is a first time offender. .
However Patrick Omia, the State Prosecutor argued that the appeal was filed wrongly it was brought under article 23 of the constitution. Omia argued that Oteka is already a convict and therefore there is no way his lawyers can argue that their client can be released on presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
In his bail application ruling, Justice Okwanga said that he was neither satisfied nor convinced by the applicant (Oteka) that he should be released on bail pending the hearing of his application. The Judge said he saw no merit in justifying bail for Oteka. The Pastor, after the Judge’s ruling was led by prison warders to court cell down on the ground floor of the high court building before being taken back to Gulu Central Government Prisons.
The embattled Pastor is also facing an additional charge of misuse of tractor Reg. No. KBN 318 J.
The marriage between Oteka and Ward hit the rocks after the former accused the latter of infidelity. The couple has far filed for divorce before the Gulu High Court.
Oteka is a former Director of an NGO he co-founded with Ward before he was dropped after their marriage which lasted for less than four years turned sour. Oteka in turn founded Save Africa Mission, a faith based organization based in Gulu, northern Uganda.
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But I see double standard with this Judge. He released many people on bail, some of which are alleged to have committed murder. He is just scared of these Americans, may be cause him problem