Wife of honorary consul charged with murder of baby remanded

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Jolin Rugari Kanoheri, the wife of the honorary consul of Zimbabwe to Uganda, Chris Rugari, charged with the murder of her baby, has been further remanded to Luzira Women’s Prison.

Kanoheri, 40, was charged with the murder of her baby Rugari Nganwa, together with her housemaid Robinah Nabanja, 24. Kanoheri is a resident of Mutungo zone 8, Mutungo Hill parish, Nakawa Division, Kampala district.

Prosecution alleges that between April 1 and 2, Kanoheri unlawfully murdered Nganwa contrary to sections 171 and 172 of the Penal Code Act.

According to the charge sheet, Nabanja, well knowing that Kanoheri had allegedly murdered the baby, assisted her to escape punishment.

On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, Nakawa Court Grade One Magistrate Frank Namanya remanded the accused until June 5, 2025, because the state attorney, Willy Odongo Mahatma, was indisposed.

The court heard that investigations into the matter are still ongoing.

Charges

Kanoheri is facing charges of murder, while Nabanja is battling charges of being an accessory after the fact of murder, contrary to section 189 of the Penal Code Act.

The offence of murder carries a maximum sentence of death, on conviction while being an accessory after the fact of murder elicits a seven-year jail term.

Re-arrest

Kanoheri, who had initially been released on Police bond, was re-arrested three weeks ago, following fresh forensic revelations that contradicted her initial statement.

The reconstruction was prompted by what Police have termed as “growing inconsistencies” in Kanoheri’s account and findings from the child’s postmortem.

She had initially told the Police that her son fell through an open window on the first floor at around 8:30 pm on April 1.

Kanoheri stated that she quickly rushed him to Kitintale hospital, from where medics examined the child and recommended a CT scan. However, since the child appeared stable, they returned home.

However, postmortem results contradicted this sequence of events. Investigators found no external injuries on the child’s body – no swelling, scratches, or bleeding despite claims he had fallen from a height of over five metres. Instead, the child had sustained internal injuries that were not consistent with a simple fall.

The murder probe comes at a time when Rugari has filed for divorce. This was after Rugari conducted a DNA test on three of the children and discovered that he was the biological father of only one child, while the other two were not his.