PGB soldier sentenced to death
A SOLDIER attached to the Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB) was on Friday convicted and sentenced to death after he was found guilty of killing three civilians in Mbale town last year.
By Joseph Wanzusi
In Mbale
A SOLDIER attached to the Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB) was on Friday convicted and sentenced to death after he was found guilty of killing three civilians in Mbale town last year.
The 3rd Division Court Martial chairman, Col. John Baptist Mulindwa, read out the death sentence to 23-year-old Private Zepha Muhumuza.
According to the prosecution, the convict, who was attached to the Vice-President’s security detail, killed Lukia Nandago and Collin Nabende at Nandudu Lodge on April 6, 2007.
With “malice aforethought†he also shot dead Moses Kiwani on Cathedral Avenue in Mbale.
The murders were allegedly over a woman.
The prosecutor, Lt. Arthur Asingwire, told the court that on the fateful night, Muhumuza committed the offence using an SMG, which he later hid in the fence of Mt. Elgon Hotel.
Asingwire further said Muhumuza, in an attempt to elude arrest, armed himself with a gun belonging to another soldier.
But witnesses spotted him among several others in an identification parade.
Arguments by the defence counsel, Lt. Harry Luleecera, that Muhumuza was still a young man and a first offender, were not considered by the court.
Col. Mulindwa told the convict that he was a well-trained Ugandan soldier who was expected to protect the lives of civilians, not take their lives.
Muhumuza, who looked calm throughout the trial, was handcuffed by the Military Police before being driven to Maluku Prison.
Reacting to the judgement outside court, Mzee Isaac Shasha, the paternal uncle of the late Kiwani, said he was happy about the ruling but asked the Government for compensation.
Members of the court martial panel included Lt. Col Michael Ondoga, Maj. F.N. Kamugisha, Maj. James Kasule, Lt. Patrick Matovu, Lt. F.M. Kagumire and Ernest Dramuke.
In Mbale
A SOLDIER attached to the Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB) was on Friday convicted and sentenced to death after he was found guilty of killing three civilians in Mbale town last year.
The 3rd Division Court Martial chairman, Col. John Baptist Mulindwa, read out the death sentence to 23-year-old Private Zepha Muhumuza.
According to the prosecution, the convict, who was attached to the Vice-President’s security detail, killed Lukia Nandago and Collin Nabende at Nandudu Lodge on April 6, 2007.
With “malice aforethought†he also shot dead Moses Kiwani on Cathedral Avenue in Mbale.
The murders were allegedly over a woman.
The prosecutor, Lt. Arthur Asingwire, told the court that on the fateful night, Muhumuza committed the offence using an SMG, which he later hid in the fence of Mt. Elgon Hotel.
Asingwire further said Muhumuza, in an attempt to elude arrest, armed himself with a gun belonging to another soldier.
But witnesses spotted him among several others in an identification parade.
Arguments by the defence counsel, Lt. Harry Luleecera, that Muhumuza was still a young man and a first offender, were not considered by the court.
Col. Mulindwa told the convict that he was a well-trained Ugandan soldier who was expected to protect the lives of civilians, not take their lives.
Muhumuza, who looked calm throughout the trial, was handcuffed by the Military Police before being driven to Maluku Prison.
Reacting to the judgement outside court, Mzee Isaac Shasha, the paternal uncle of the late Kiwani, said he was happy about the ruling but asked the Government for compensation.
Members of the court martial panel included Lt. Col Michael Ondoga, Maj. F.N. Kamugisha, Maj. James Kasule, Lt. Patrick Matovu, Lt. F.M. Kagumire and Ernest Dramuke.