A 46-year-old witch doctor has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after he was found guilty of cutting off the hand of a one-year-old boy in what the court said was a ritual sacrifice.
Godfrey Ssekatawa, a resident of Busiika village in Luweero District, was convicted alongside his accomplice, Ismael Ssebugwawo, a 48-year-old art dealer and resident of Makindye Division in Kampala.
Ssebugwawo was handed a 25-year sentence after High Court judge Comfort Rosette Kania, on October 30, 2025, found him and Ssekatawa guilty of attempted murder and aggravated trafficking in children, which they committed in 2020.
While reading out the sentence, the judge noted that despite the overwhelming evidence brought against the convicts, they had not shown any remorse during court proceedings.
“This is one of the rare cases. The victim was left maimed forever as he knew and trusted Ssebuggwawo,” the judge said during a court proceeding attended by the victim, his father and mother, plus relatives.
“The second convict (Ssebugwawo) sowed poison, which led to the first convict to carry out the offence,” the judge added.
Although the prosecution had asked the court to hand the two convicts a life sentence, the judge noted that the duo were first offenders who should be allowed to go back into society after serving their sentence.
Both convicts had asked the court for a lenient sentence, arguing that they are parents who had families to look after and that they are the sole breadwinners. During the hearing of the case, the prosecution said that Ssebuggwawo had, on orders of Ssekatawa, cut off Jessy Katandi’s hand for sacrifice to acquire wealth. He had hidden it in a container, where it was discovered by detectives.
He left the boy bleeding profusely and went into hiding.
He was to take the hand to Ssekatawa for ritual sacrifice in order to get wealth.
Mr Yekus Musujja, the Kyampisi Childcare Ministries case management officer, said he was satisfied with the sentence, adding that the organisation was rehabilitating the victim.
“We shall continue to offer any form of assistance to the victim and family so that the victim completes his education and becomes a responsible citizen,” Mr Musujja said.