'He is alive': Prisons denies Kanyamunyu death reports

The Uganda Prisons Services on Tuesday said Mathew Kanyamunyu who was sentenced in November 2020 for the murder of Kenneth Akena, is alive.

In a statement, Prisons publicist Frank Baine said “false media reports have been making rounds purporting the death of prisoner KTA/MIN-C1603/20 Kanyamunyu, who is in custody at Kitalya Mini Maximum Prison".

"The general public is informed that the above-mentioned person is alive and serving his sentence. These false stories should be ignored with utmost contempt,” he said.

Some media outlets reported that Kanyamunyu passed away while in Kitalya Prison in Wakiso district.

In November 2020, Kanyamunyu was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter after court found him guilty of unintentionally killing social worker Akena in 2016.

His murder charge was reduced to manslaughter by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after a plea bargaining session held at the High Court criminal division in Kampala.

His lawyer, Peter Kabatsi, said the DPP-sanctioned and amended charge sheet had been presented to court in which Kanyamunyu had pleaded guilty to the lesser case of manslaughter.

“Therefore, Kanyamunyu has accepted before court that on November 12, 2016, at Kampala-Jinja Highway he unlawfully caused the death of Akena. On the fateful day, Kanyamunyu and Akena got involved in a motor accident which resulted into a scuffle and Kanyamunyu shot Akena in the chest,” Kabatsi said at the time.

Justice Stephen Mubiru ruled that since Kanyamunyu was a first-time offender and also took the victim to hospital, court had accepted his bargain of six years’ imprisonment.