KAMPALA: The Court of Appeal has reduced businessman Muhammad Ssebuwufu’s jail term from 40 years to 18 years for murdering Betty Donah Katusabe.
A panel of three justices – Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, Catherine Bamugemereire and Christopher Izama Madrama – on Tuesday, 26 October 2021 ruled that the 40 years handed out to Sebuwufu by High Court Judge Lady Justice Flavia Anglin Ssenoga in 2019 on three offences of kidnap with intent to murder, murder and aggravated robbery were harsh given the circumstances of the case.
Now, Ssebuwufu’s sentence has been reduced to 18 years, one month and nine days imprisonment, effective from the date of his conviction on June 24, 2019
In the same way, the panel has also acquitted Ssebuwufu’s three co-accused persons of some offences.
Ssebuwufu had in 2019 been convicted together with Godfrey Kayiza, Phillip Mirembe, Paul Tasingika, Yoweri Kitayimbwa, Damasseni Ssentongo, Shaban Odutu and Stephen Lwanga, who was sentenced to 7 years in jail for being an accessory after the offence.
The group was found guilty of kidnapping Katusabe from her home in Bwebajja along Entebbe road on October 21, 2015, and drove her to Pine car bond along Lumumba Avenue in Kampala where they used sharp objects to torture her to death.
Katusabe had reportedly failed to pay a balance of 9 Million Shillings for a vehicle she bought from Ssebuwufu’s bond valued at Shillings 17 million.
As a result, the then High Court Judge Lady Justice Flavia Anglin Ssenoga sentenced them to serve punishments ranging from 20 to 40 years that were to run concurrently on three offenses of kidnap with intent to murder, murder and aggravated robbery. Ssenoga also directed that they compensate Katusabe’s family with 100 million shillings for loss of life.
However, in their judgement, the Court of Appeal Justices have quashed the convictions and subsequent sentences of Paul Tasingika, Yoweri Kitayimbwa and Damasseni Ssentongo.
According to the judges, after doing a careful re-evaluation of the evidence that was presented on court record, they have come to a conclusion that the trio was never at all mentioned by 26 witnesses of the prosecution to have participated in the murder of Katusabe.
However, for the rest of the convicts, the Judges have quashed their conviction and subsequent sentences on the offense of aggravated robbery and kidnap with intent to murder saying that the evidence was also insufficient for them to be convicted over the same.
But the same Judges have maintained their conviction and subsequent sentences on the offense of murder saying that there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence to the effect that Ssebuwufu, Kayiza and Odutu participated in the assault of Katusabe which led to her death.
The Judges have also gone ahead to reduce on their sentences saying that the previous ones were harsh and manifestly excessive given the precedents of the courts in related cases as well as the mitigating factors that the convicts were first time offenders.
Now, Kayiza will serve a sentence of 16 years and 10 months in prison, Mirambe 16 years and 11 months imprisonment and Odutu 16 years and five months imprisonment.
The Judges have also maintained the compensation of Shs100 million to the family of the deceased.