Magara murder case: Seventh suspect starts his defence

KAMPALA - The hearing of the case in which nine people are accused of kidnapping and murdering Susan Magara in February 2018 resumed today with the 7th accused person defending himself over the heinous crimes.

Defending himself under the guidance of his lawyer, Peter Wanda, the now 26-year-old Hassan Kato Miiro denied having been involved in the commission of the offences.

High Court Judge Alex Mackay Ajiji is presiding over the trial.

Miiro said he came to Kampala in March 2018 from Buwalula village in Mityana district, where he allegedly stayed with his parents.

“It was therefore not possible that I was involved in the kidnapping and murder of Susan Magara, yet I was not in Kampala,” Miiro said.  

Asked about tales by Abubaker Kyewolwa in the scene reconstruction videos that he was among the people who kept guard of Magara while in captivity at Konge in Makindye Division before she was murdered, Miiro denied the allegations as false.

“My lord, this is not true because I never knew Magara. Secondly, I have never been at Konge, and I don’t know its location. The investigating officer, Desire Wandera, told court that this offence happened in February 2018, and yet I came to Kampala in March 2018. Therefore, it was not possible that I participated in the commission of the crime,” Miiro said.

Miiro also denied knowledge of his co-accused except his twin brother, Hussein Wasswa. Asked about the allegations that he received a token of sh1m from the ransom cash, Miiro denied.

Miiro further denied knowledge of Hamid Lugoloobi, a key suspect who is still at large despite the call data printouts from Airtel showing that he was in constant communication with him.

Miiro, however, acknowledged that he was arrested from Usafi makeshift mosque on April 27, 2018.  He said that he was 16 years at the time of his arrest.

Following his arrest, Miiro said he was detained at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) for 21 days, where he was allegedly subjected to immense torture, including squeezing his private parts and keeping him on chains throughout the spell.  

When he came to Kampala, Miiro said he stayed with his step-mother, Aisha Nanfuka and that at the time of his arrest, he had gone to the mosque for prayers.  

Miiro is battling the charges jointly with Wasswa, Hajarah Nakandi, Yusuf Lubega, Ismail Bukenya, Mahad Kisalita, Kyewolwa, Abbas Musa Buvumbo and Muzamir Ssali.

Fumbles during cross-examination

However, during cross-examination, Miiro fumbled after the prosecution led by Chief State Attorney Joseph Kyomuhendo drew his attention to the record he submitted at the National Information Registration Authority (NIRA). 

The records from NIRA indicate that Miiro was born on January 26, 1996, which means that he was aged 22 years at the time of his arrest and not 16 years as he claimed in his main testimony.  

With the exception of the date of birth, the particulars from NIRA were similar to those Miiro said in his testimony. 

They indicate that Miiro was born to Abdullah Ssendeba and Sania Nakayiza of Malangala subcounty in Mityana district. Miiro had denied applying for the national identity card from NIRA.

Asked whether Wasswa is his twin brother, Miiro said yes. Hearing of the case resumes tomorrow.

The case

Susan, 28, a daughter of businessman John Magara, was kidnapped on February 7 2018, along Kabaka Anjagala Road in Mengo, a Kampala suburb, as she drove back to her home about three kilometers away.

Her kidnappers then contacted her family and demanded $1m (about sh3.65b) before they could release her.

Despite the family having delivered $200,000 (about sh700m) to the kidnappers, Magara was murdered in cold blood, and three weeks later, her body was recovered from Kigo in
Wakiso district on February 27, 2018, where it had been dumped.

The allegations

The prosecution alleges that the accused and others still at large on February 7, 2018, kidnapped Magara with intent to procure a ransom for her liberation from the danger of being murdered.

The indictment indicates that Magara was a victim of a ransom scheme hatched by Byensi, a former Allied Democratic Force (ADF) combatant who hails from Bunyoro, just like Susan and that he was known to her family.

Armed with the information, the suspects, according to the prosecution, started training her until they kidnapped her on February 7, 2018.

Following her kidnap, the suspects allegedly first held her at Nakandi’s home in Nateete and later at Bukenya’s home in Konge II in Makindye Division, Kampala, from where her two fingers were chopped off and sent to her family to show them how determined they were to kill her if the ransom money was not paid.

The indictment indicates that the suspects resolved to kill her because releasing her would expose them.

The prosecution states that the suspects used part of the money to purchase land in Buikwe and Luweero districts, respectively.