Baby Kakama murderer jailed 60 years

By Andante Okanya

One of the three suspects charged in connection with the 2010 murder of the 18-month-old baby boy, Kham Kakama, was yesterday sentenced to 60 years in prison after  pleading guilty.

Gordon Tumusiime,26, was sentenced by trial judge, Justice Faith Mwondha, the resident judge of Nakawa Court in Kampala. The other co-accused are Brian Sajjabi, 24, and the maid, Mellon Nabaasa, 23. The trial for the duo who denied the charges starts on July 16.

Kakama's body was discovered in a Kampala swamp on June 13 after he was kidnapped from his parents' home in Bugolobi on June 8. The accused were each charged  with murder and  kidnap. "I hereby sentence you to 30 years in prison on count one and 30 years on count two but these sentences will be served concurrently," Mwondha stated, as teary-eyed relatives of the deceased looked on.

Kakama's father Sven Karekaho works with the Uganda Revenue Authority, while his mother, Naome Karekaho, is the spokesperson of the National Environmental Management Authority.

Additionally, Justice Mwondha ordered that the exhibits bought using the ransom money should be confiscated and restored to deceased's parents.

Prosecution will adduce at the trial that Tumusiime, in his charge and caution statement, confessed to have planned with Sajjabi and Nabaasa to demand ransom. According to the indictment by the Director of Public Prosecutions, on June 11, the father of the deceased left the ransom of sh30m at Ishaka Kyamuhanga sub-county near Nsubi river bridge, from where Tumusiime picked it.

The evidence also shows that between June 13 and 20, 2010 Tumusiime used the ransom money to buy two motorcycles, a plot of land, and opened a bank account. The evidence further shows that when Tumusiime was arrested on June 21, he was found with sh4.4m, a motorcycle log book, two receipts and two land titles.

Further evidence from DPP shows that on June 7, Tumusiime and Sajjabi opened a mobile money account in Kamwokya using a false name and bought a phone, which was later delivered to Nabaasa at the Bugolobi Flats.

Prosecution led by Senior State Attorney Michael Mukwana is ready to prove that Kakama's father sent sh500,000 to the account, which was later withdrawn by Tumusiime from Kamwokya on June 8, 2010.

The boda boda riders who were hired by Tumusiime on the day of the kidnap will also be produced before court. Prosecution will also adduce that the suspects were examined by medical experts and found to be of sound mind. There is proof that the written note sent to Sven from the accused was examined by handwriting experts and the results indicated that Sajjabi was the author.

Prosecution will also provide evidence that a DNA test ascertained that Kakama was indeed the biological child of the Karekahos.