The State has intensified efforts to discredit a defence witness in the case where a group of youths are accused of falsely accusing Lubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral’s lead pastor, Robert Kayanja.
Ssentongo Reagan, who testified as Defence Witness Number Eight before the Mwanga II Grade One Magistrate’s Court, came under sustained cross-examination from Chief State Attorney Jonathan Muwaganya.
The State sought to highlight inconsistencies in his testimony, particularly regarding his age, identity and personal history.
Central to the prosecution’s argument were prison records from Kiryandongo, Masindi and Murchison Bay prisons. These records, presented in court, reportedly indicate that Ssentongo was recorded as being 21 years old in 2021.
Prosecutors argued that this contradicts his statement in court in July 2026, where he maintained that he is still 21 years old. The State told court that this inconsistency raises serious questions about the accuracy and reliability of his testimony.
The prosecution further introduced a letter dated July 22, 2026, from Murchison Bay Prison, signed by the officer in charge, T. Katate.
The letter states that there is no record showing that Muwaganya ever visited Ssentongo while he was on remand.
This directly challenges Ssentongo’s earlier claim that the prosecutor visited him in prison and attempted to persuade him and his co-accused to admit that they had been paid to falsely accuse Pastor Kayanja of engaging in unnatural offences.
On the issue of his background, Ssentongo told court that his biological father is Ssentongo Ahmed, although he admitted they have only met once and that he does not know where he lives. However, the prosecution presented records from the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), obtained through a court order, indicating that Reagan Ssentongo was born on September 4, 2000. The same records list his parents as Mutabazi Francis and Nalubowa Harriet.
While Ssentongo acknowledged the NIRA details, he maintained that Mutabazi Francis is not his biological father. He explained that he was rejected by his biological father at a young age and was later introduced to Ssentongo Ahmed, who he claims changed his name. Under further questioning, he admitted that Mutabazi Francis is the one who regularly visits him in prison and is officially listed as his father and next of kin in prison records.
The prosecution also relied on earlier records to challenge Ssentongo’s account of his association with the church. He had told court that he joined Rubaga Miracle Centre at the age of 13 in 2016. However, the State pointed to records from his first remand at Masindi Prison in September 2021, as well as testimony he gave before the Kiryandongo Chief Magistrate’s Court in August 2022, both of which indicated that he was already 21 years old at the time—raising further doubts about his timeline.
In addition, the State played an audio recording which it alleges captured Ssentongo and other youths attending a meeting with city pastor Jackson Ssenyonga. In the recording, the youths are allegedly promised money, opportunities to travel abroad and a meeting at State House in exchange for implicating Pastor Kayanja.
Ssentongo, however, denied attending such a meeting and told court that he could not identify any of the voices in the recording, challenging the prosecution to produce video evidence linking him to the alleged gathering.
The prosecution also presented a video recorded at Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral, in which Ssentongo and other youths are seen testifying that they had previously lived on the streets and used marijuana. In response, Ssentongo told court that those statements were not true, claiming that he had been coached to say them so that he could receive educational support from the church.
The case revolves around nine youths who are facing charges of criminal trespass and allegedly fabricating claims accusing Pastor Kayanja of involvement in homosexuality.
The trial is being presided over by Grade One Magistrate Adams Byarugaba, and proceedings are ongoing as court continues to hear evidence from both sides.
