Uwera to defend self over husband's death

By Michael Odeng                       

KAMPALA - The High Court has ordered Kampala businesswoman Jackline Uwera Nsenga to defend herself over allegations that she deliberately killed her husband, Juvenale Nsenga Kananura by running him over with a car.

On Friday, the High court Duncan Gaswaga ruled that Uwera had a case to answer after prosecution closed its case with 13 witnesses testifying against her, one of them being her late husband's brother.

The defense hearing of the case is scheduled to begin on Monday.

Last week, the dead man's brother, Moses Kananura, made a chilling revelation in court, as he told of his brother's last moments.

He told court that before he died, Nsenga's last words were: "My wife has killed me in my own home".

In a new amended indictment, the prosecution team led by Susan Okalany alleges that Uwera on January 10 last year maliciously knocked dead her husband.

The incident happened at their residence in Bugolobi, a suburb in Kampala.

The account is that when Uwera’s husband opened the gate for her to drive in at around 9.00pm local time that day, she accelerated and hit him, eventually leading to his death at Paragon Hospital where he was admitted after the incident.

Jacqueline Uwera Nsenga  with her relatives at the High Court on Friday. PHOTO/Tony Rujuta

'Missing ear'

But before he breathed his last, Nsenga told his brother [Moses Kananura] to get all his car keys and phone from his wife and asked him to ensure safe custody of all his properties, according to the brother's testimony in court.

Testifying as a prosecution witness days ago, Kananura told court: "As I entered Paragon Hospital, I met Jackline and the Inspector General of Police's wife, Angela Kayihura, seated at the reception and I proceeded to the admission room and found blood dripping all over the deceased's [brother's] body with a twisted leg. His one ear was also off."

He said when he went to his brother's home to pick the missing ear, he did not see any damage at the gate. He also said he found the car in proper condition.

Meanwhile, Nsenga's father, Darnet Kananura, has told court before that the couple’s marriage had turned rocky and that his son's wife had on several occasions issued specific and general threats against her husband.

The grieving father said his son often told him of his wife's tendency of coming back home late and her failure to commit to domestic work at home.

He told court: 'When my son told me of their marriage problems, I called Uwera and requested her to listen to her husband but she refused."

A police pathologist, Dr. Moses Byaruhanga, has also appeared before court.

According to him, the death came as a result of multiple blunt force injuries that the deceased incurred when the accused dragged him against a rough surface.

(PHOTOs/Tony Rujuta)