Lt. Col. Kaye jailed 7 yrs for manslaughter

By Michael Odeng

A senior UPDF officer, Lt. Col. John Kaye has been handed a lesser charge of manslaughter after his murder conviction was overturned.

Kaye was convicted on February 16, 2015 for the murder of Stephen Kabuye and had been sentenced to 10 years, but on appeal the court granted him a reduced charge of manslaughter with a 7-year jail term.

"We quash the conviction of murder and substitute it with that of manslaughter," the Court Martial of Appeal Court Chairman, Elly Turyamubona said on Friday.

The court passed a lesser sentence on grounds that the General Court Martial (GCM) had imposed a harsh sentence to Kaye.

Turyamubona told court that prosecution proved that it was Kaye who caused the death of Kabuye. He said the evidence from prosecution witnesses who included Sarah Nakato, D/Sgt Raymond Kilama, D/IP Gilbert Ntumwa and Doctor Sam Kalungi all proved that the deceased died from gunshot inflicted on him by Kaye. 

Although Kaye claims that he did it in self defence, the chairman noted that the appellant (Kaye) would have shown that he was in eminent danger of death or serious bodily harm before shooting the deceased. 

In his ruling, Turyamubona stated that GCM erred in law and facts when it convicted Kaye on evidence marred with a lot of inconsistencies and contradictions.

Prosecution witness one, Nakato contradicted herself on the number of beers she took that day. That the witness also talked of her seat having being adjusted by the deceased since she was tired but later on cross examination she denied it. 

The court also stated that the GCM erred in facts when it based on fanciful theories as evidence to convict Kaye. Turyamubona added that the lower court failed to properly evaluate the evidence on record thus coming to a wrong decision which caused a miscarriage of justice to the appellant (Kaye).

According to prosecution, Kaye on November 12, 2011 at around 11:40pm was at his home in Nalumunye, Wakiso district when he had a loud bang on his gate and at the time his wife was not at home.

The accused then went out in the company of his escorts to check what was going on, only to find a vehicle parked with full lights on. The driver Kabuye, the deceased, came out of the vehicle and Kaye shot him dead using a pistol. In the vehicle, was Kaye's wife and one person identified as Sarah Nakato.

However, after the incident Kaye left the scene with his escorts and reported himself at Nalumunye Police Post where he handed over his pistol.

Prosecution led by Maj. Fredrick Kanguwamu produced seven witnesses who pinned Kaye. Kaye admitted killing the deceased but claimed he had acted in self defence and in alternative, he claimed it was an accident.