The High Court in Kampala has sentenced a Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) officer to 27 years in prison and a police officer to 37 years for their roles in the murder of a businessman. Court found the duo guilty in the murder of Rukungiri businessman Goddie Anobushoborozi. Delivering the sentence yesterday, Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji said the punishment reflected each convict’s degree of participation in a crime that led to the loss of life under what he termed ‘absurd circumstances’.
Detective Corporal Lawrence Muheki, a serving police officer at the time of the offence and described by the court as the mastermind, was sentenced to 37 years in jail. UPDF Capt Moses Akiba, who the court found to have participated in planning and staging the ambush, was handed a 27-year jail term. Five other convicts also received lengthy custodial sentences. Frank Mugisha was sentenced to 18 years, Rashid Kashaija to 30 years, Hillary Ahumuza to 35 years, Abed Mwesiga to 27 years, and Rodney Rwakimari to 27 years. The court ordered that the time each convict spent on remand-ranging from more than six to nearly seven years-should be deducted from the sentences.
‘This court is mandated to pass sentences aimed at rehabilitating offenders and deterring others,’ Justice Ajiji said. ‘In this particular case, a life was lost in absurd circumstances. The deceased was a successful person who left behind a family.’ During sentencing submissions, Chief State Attorney Irene Nakimbugwe urged court to impose stiff penalties, citing aggravating factors surrounding the killing. She told the court that murder attracts a maximum sentence of death and that the facts of the case justified severe punishment for culprits. ‘The deceased was a family man whose relatives are in court today. He was brutally murdered through gunshots to the head at close range, showing clear premeditation,’ Ms Nakimbugwe said.
She outlined the role of each convict, submitting that Mugisha laid the ambush, Akiba maintained constant communication with the co-accused and was aware the killing was to be paid for, and Kashaija physically engaged the deceased. Ahumuza, she said, fired the fatal shot, while Muheki-who owed the deceased money-masterminded the plot. Ms Nakimbugwe added that the State had a duty to protect citizens and that courts must impose deterrent sentences, particularly where security officers abuse their positions. In mitigation, defence lawyer Sylvia Namawejje asked the court to consider the convicts’ ages, family responsibilities, lack of prior convictions for some, and the long period spent on remand.
She said Mugisha was a first-time offender, who cooperated with investigators, Akiba had no known criminal record and played a secondary role, while Ahumuza was a father and sole breadwinner, who pursued studies while on remand. For Kashaija, counsel argued that his previous conviction was under appeal and should not weigh heavily against him. Some of the convicts also addressed the court. Kashaija asked for mercy, citing family responsibilities, while Muheki maintained his innocence, claiming the evidence against him was fabricated and appealing for leniency due to his age and health.
In his sentencing remarks, Justice Ajiji said Muheki’s conduct was particularly aggravating. ‘Being a police officer with a duty to protect people and their property, he instead left the deceased’s family in ruins,’ the judge said. The court informed the convicts of their right to appeal within 14 days. Justice Ajiji had in his judgment on Tuesday, found that the convicts acted with a common intention, lured the businessman from his home on the promise of payment, and ambushed him on Rukungiri-Buhunga Road, where he was shot dead at close range.