Kigula escaped death with a law degree

By Petride Mudoola

Susan Kigula was taken into her jail cell whilst she was sobbing. When she finally opened her eyes and looked around, there was nowhere to run or hide.

A disconsolate Kigula felt worthless. She had been accused of killing her husband.

In 2002, court found her guilty and sentenced her to death. She could not see any way up or out.  Apprehensive and oblivious of what lay ahead; Kigula gave in to frequent cycles of depression.

For years, she waited for the hangman to say, “let’s go,” but this did not happen.

She petitioned against the sentence. “Hanging a person is not a deterrent since everyone deserves a second chance to live. That is why I petitioned against the death penalty,” says Kigula.

Whereas court did not abolish the death sentence, in 2011, it ruled that the State cannot torture condemned prisoners by keeping them on death row for years; therefore, if a death penalty cannot be executed within three years, it is automatically turned into life imprisonment.
 

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An elated Kigula serves her parents cake. PHOTO/Petride Mudoola

New beginnings

Thus, Kigula, who had spent nine years in prison, escaped the hangman’s noose and started a new life. In 2011, her sentence was reduced to 20 years starting 2002, meaning she will be out of jail in 2022 and will be a different person.

About two years ago, Kigula started studying law in a distance education programme and on August 19, she was among the three inmates, two males and one female, who graduated with a diploma in Law of the University of London.

Kigula could not find the words to express her joy when she was called upon by Prof. Jenny Hamilton, the director undergraduate Laws at the University of London, to receive her most coveted document during a ceremony at Luzira Prison.

“I can’t believe I am receiving such a prestigious accolade. People out there think prisoners do not have the brains to study law, but I have made it. I am now an alumni of the University of London,” Kigula proudly noted.

Her father, Canon Godfrey Njagala and her mother, Gertrude Kigula Njagala, attended the ceremony.
 

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Here, with Hon. Justice Yorokamu Bamwine (R) and Uganda Prisons commissioner general Johnson Byabashaija. PHOTO/Petride Mudoola

Committed to the letter

Kigula becomes one of the first prisoners in the history of Uganda to receive a diploma in Common Law. She hopes to get a degree in law from the same university. Kigula has been the Katikkiro (head of prisoners) in the women’s wing.

Despite her criminal record, she is remorseful about her actions. When she was jailed, she had a limited education, but enrolled for O’level and scored aggregate 29. She then proceeded to A’level and scored 18 points.

Kigula says she intends to set up a law firm upon discharge. She took up law because she wants to advocate for the rights of the less privileged having realised that the poor face ‘miscarriage of justice’ in the judicial system.

“Many innocent people end up behind bars because they lack legal representation. I am determined to leave prison a learned woman so that I fight for the rights of the underprivileged,” says Kigula.

With the knowledge acquired so far, Kigula has been providing legal advice to fellow prisoners.

The commissioner general of prisons, Johnson Byabashaija, explains that prison is not simply a punishment centre. “I want to transform prisons from punitive centre to correctional facilities,” he notes.
 

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Kigula enjoys a moment with a fellow graduand. PHOTO/Petride Mudoola

Hope for the hopeless

The rationale is that prisoners should receive counselling, religious guidance, ideological re-orientation and skills to enable them become more useful and less troublesome members of society.

It also enables them to become self-reliant after release. In the long run, according to prisons sources, the phrase “prisons service” is likely to be changed to “correctional services”.

The head teacher of the Upper Prison inmates’ school, Anatoli Biryomumaisho, says the school’s enrolment stands at 1,050 students.

A total of 615 are in primary, 324 in secondary, while 111 enrolled for certificate and diploma courses.

“The ex-inmates often turn out to be better people in society. Some of them come back to give motivational  talks to those still in prison,” he notes.


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