Rev. John Abiya Lalobo of St Andrew church in Awach Sub County was last week charged with arson for torching 17huts belonging to three families in Paduny-Paromo village, Awach Sub County.
While appearing before Deogratious Ssejemba, the Gulu Chief Magistrate on Tuesday, Rev. Lalobo was charged alongside eight other suspects in connection with the alleged arson offence.
Prosecution led by Mr William Mbayo told court that on December 23, 2014, Lalobo and other accused persons raided the home of the complainants and burnt down the said houses.
According to Mbayo, the accused person acted with malice.
Court heard that the houses burnt down belonged to the families of Mr Fidele Opoka who lost five hurts and unspecified amount of property, Mr Sekondino Okumu who lost eight 8 huts and Mr Rufino Lukwiya who lost four huts.
Ms Lucy Akumu, 59, the wife to Opoka who was one of the prosecution witnesses testified that she overheard Lalobo ordering his accomplices to torch the huts.
Akumu alleges that at around 11:30AM on that fateful day, Lalobo who was putting on a short and a black jacket commanded that not even a living thing be spared.
She said, “Shortly after, one of the attackers called Lilly Oroma used a bundle of dry grass to set one of the houses alight before others followed suit.”
She claims that she lost property including clothes, food items and utensil worth Shs15.1 million.
In her testimony before Chief Magistrate Ssejemba, Akumu said she was already hiding in a nearby bush after hearing a gunshot when she witnessed what happened.
Meanwhile another witness in the case, Okumu, 70, who also testified before court said they were in dispute with Mr George Opiro, the maternal uncle of Lalobo before his huts were burnt.
Okumu claims that before the attack on the three homes, he had received a court order which instructed that Opiro’s family be evicted from the land in question.
He is now asking for Shs32.5 million in compensation for the damages he suffered.
Prosecutor Mbayo asked court for an adjournment to allow more witnesses to testify.
Magistrate Ssejemba adjourned the case to August 14, 2015 when the suspects who are on bail are expected to reappear for further hearing into the case.
