Inside the Case of Rev. Fr. Deusdedit Ssekabira: Law, power and a priest in the dock

The usually quiet corridors of the Masaka High Court were charged with tension as Justice Victoria Nakintu Katamba delivered her ruling on the fate of Rev. Fr. Deusdedit Ssekabira, a Catholic priest now at the centre of a high-profile money laundering case that has drawn both legal and political attention.

The judge dismissed an application for bail filed by Ssekabira’s lawyers, Samuel Muyizi and Sam Ssekyewa, keeping the priest in custody as the state prepares to prosecute him over allegations that he laundered Shs500 million. Ssekabira denies the charges.

Justice Nakintu directed the prosecution to be ready for full hearing when the case begins on February 10, warning that failure to do so could prompt the court to reconsider the question of bail.

A Prosecution Still Taking Shape

Even as the bail application was being dismissed, the prosecution acknowledged that its case is still being assembled.

Principal State Attorney Betty Karungi Gafabusa asked court to adjourn the proceedings to February 4, 2026, saying the state needed more time to secure affidavits from the Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs and the Inspector General of Police—documents she described as critical to the case.

The defence team pushed back strongly, arguing that the state had been given ample time to prepare. They told court that all relevant parties were served with documents on January 13 and that the matter had already been adjourned once, from an earlier date to January 27.

To them, another delay would amount to an unnecessary extension of their client’s time behind bars.

A Case That Has Left the Courtroom

But the story of Rev. Fr. Ssekabira has not remained confined to legal submissions and affidavits. It has spilled into the political arena.

In a recent victory address, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni publicly spoke about the priest’s arrest, saying security agencies detained him over alleged involvement with opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi.

The President revealed that he had been approached by church leaders, including Masaka Bishop Serverus Jjumba, who appealed for Ssekabira’s release. Museveni said he declined the request.

The remarks added a new layer of controversy to a case already under public scrutiny, raising questions about the intersection of faith, politics, and the criminal justice system in Uganda.

Between Faith and the Law

Catholic priests are often seen as moral anchors within their communities, figures of trust who preside over baptisms, funerals, and quiet pastoral counsel. For many in Masaka, the image of one of their own standing in the dock on serious financial crime charges is both unsettling and difficult to process.

Yet for the state, the case represents something else: a test of accountability, one that authorities insist must run its course regardless of clerical status or public sympathy.