Namayingo businessman who murdered school headteacher gets 40 years behind bars

IGANGA - The High Court in Iganga has sentenced a Namayingo businessman who murdered the Gorofa Primary School headteacher over a land dispute to 40 years behind bars. 

Justice David Batema, the Resident Judge, found Godfrey Mugema guilty of murdering Oscar Simiyu, the Deputy headteacher of Gorofa Primary School and resident of Gorofa West village, Lolwe sub-county in Namayingo district.

“This was a brutal murder, premeditated and executed by the convict. He does not appear remorseful at all. I consider the fact that he is a first offender and sentence him to 40 years imprisonment. I deduct the 2 years and 6 months of remand. He serves the balance of 37 years and six months,” Batema observed as he delivered his judgment.

In his opinion, the judge observed that, “There is believable strong prosecution evidence that police were called in to re-arrest a sugarcane thief, already arrested by Mugema. The defence claimed that Mugema found the deceased assaulted and dumped in the sugarcane plantation by unknown people, which is not credible.”

The evidence of Enok Kudi, a principal witness, is most credible and believable that he saw and talked to the teacher, who was using the path in front of Mugema’s sugarcane plantation. Shortly thereafter, he had Mugema shouting that he had arrested a thief who usually steals his sugarcane.

He was capable of recognising his voice because he stammers a lot; this court confirmed that the accused Mugema stammers in a unique way during cross-examination.

Kudi knew Mugema and the deceased, so his evidence placed both of them at the very scene of the crime, which corroborates the police evidence that Mugema called in police after arresting the teacher as a sugarcane thief.

Mugema actually admitted that he participated in beating the teacher with the broken stick exhibited in court. He must have known who cut and harmed the teacher in his presence.

As for the malice a forethought, this court cannot ignore the grudge over the land rented to the deceased by the principal witness, Christine Namugerwa, a sister of Mugema. Her sincere evidence was that “Mugema had wanted the teacher to stop farming on that land, but the teacher refused.”

It is possible that Mugema hired assailants to assist him in harming or murdering the teacher because of that land dispute.”

The prosecution's evidence is strong enough to support a conviction of Mugema in this case,” Justice Batema observed.

As for Samuel Wandera, the second accused person, “I have not found sufficient evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt that he participated in the murder,” the judge distinguished.

Police did not find his fingerprints on the panga used in the assault; his so-called confession was rejected by court, leaving the prosecution with no other independent evidence.

Though the defence lawyer pleaded for mercy considering the fact that the accused was a first offender capable of reforming if given a custodial sentence, the judge observed that he was not remorseful and therefore deserves a heavy sentence to deter the would-be offenders.

His defence that he was linked to this murder simply because he resided at the lodges of Mugema and had no permanent place of abode raises reasonable doubt. “I resolve that doubt in favour of the deceased. Wandera stands acquitted of the charges of murder and is set free,” Batema ruled.

Prosecution heard that Godfrey Mugema, Samuel Wandera, and others still at large on September 08, 2022, at Kamwanga village, Lolwe sub-county in Namayingo district, with malice a forethought, caused the death of Oscar Simiyu by unlawful acts.

Mugema was a businessman at the time of his arrest and a resident of Gorofa West village, Lolwe West parish, Lolwe sub-county in Namayingo district, while Wandera was a fisherman who lived in the same area. The deceased was the Deputy Headteacher at Gorofa Primary School.

On September 8, 2022, at around 5:00am, Enoch Kodi and Christopher Kabuna were going to fish. They met the deceased, who was having a panga and was flashing a torch on a phone, and he informed them that he was going to his garden to dig.

The two greeted him as they proceeded to the garden. Shortly afterwards, Kodi heard a sound of something being hit several times from the garden of Mugema, and he also heard Mugema’s voice saying, “I have been looking for you, let me show you a lesson.”

On the same day at 6:00am, while Corporal Edward Loboya, a police officer attached to Lolwe police station, was in his house, Moses Kiggundu, a son of Mugema, came and told him that his father had arrested the deceased while he was stealing sugarcane from his garden.

Immediately after receiving that information, Luboya and Juma Othieno jumped onto a motorbike, which was ridden by Saddat Lubanga and rushed to Kamwanga village, where they found Mugema and the deceased.

Luboya saw Mugema standing while holding a panga, and the deceased was seated in a pool of blood as several parts of his head kept bleeding profusely. The deceased couldn’t talk or walk. 

Mugema, Luboya and Othieno carried  Simiyu, the deceased, to the motorbike and rode him to Lolwe police station before referring him to Buwihi Health Centre III, where his head was stitched and given medication.

Minutes later, Simiyu was pronounced dead.

Rajab Muyonga, the district councillor, reported to the Lolwe police station and filed a murder case against the accused (Mugema), leading to his arrest and subsequent prosecution. 

Since Buwihi Health Centre III was not capable of conducting postmortems, the deceased’s body was transferred to Buyinja Health Centre IV for autopsy.

The postmortem conducted by Ismail Ali Sharif, the medical officer, established that the cause of death was due to internal bleeding as evidenced by blood collection under the back skin, which appeared as dark patches.

In their charge and caution statements, both Mugema and Wandera admitted being present at the scene of the crime at the time Mugema cut the deceased on the head and hand with a panga, but denied murdering the deceased.