Kanyamunyu trial for October 27

Oct 21, 2020

While adjourning the case, the judge noted that he had other pending matters in his circuit (Gulu High Court) and a matter before the International Crimes Division.

CRIME | COURT | MATHEW KANYAMUNYU 

The trial of businessman Matthew Kanyamunyu, indicted for the murder of child rights activist, Kenneth Watmon Akena, resumes on October 27.

Kanyamunyu, the executive director of Quantum Express Logistics and his girlfriend, Cynthia Munwangari, are on trial over the alleged murder of Akena, the former employee of ACODER, a non-governmental organisation based in Kasese district.

A brother, Joseph Kanyamunyu, is accused of hiding the pistol allegedly used to shoot Akena.

Prosecution alleges that the accused and others still at large, on November 12, 2016 along the Kampala-Jinja road opposite Malik car bond, with malice aforethought, caused the death of Akena.

Kanyamunyu is suspected to have shot Akena in the stomach over the denting of his car.

Akena died a day after at Norvik Hospital on Bombo Road in Kampala.

 

 

High Court Judge, Stephen Mubiru, pushed the case to the next criminal session on February 21, this year, after his session ended amidst protests from the prosecution team, led by Jonathan Muwanganya.

While adjourning the case, the judge noted that he had other pending matters in his circuit (Gulu High Court) and a matter before the International Crimes Division.

He returned the file to the Kampala-based Criminal Division of the High Court deputy registrar, Mary Ikit, for reallocation in the next convenient criminal session.

Mubiru is the Gulu High Court resident judge.

Before the matter could be reallocated, there as an outbreak of COVID-19, which prompted the Government to declare a lockdown, prompting Chief Justice, Emeritus Bart Katureebe, to suspend court trials.

At the time of suspension of the trial, 13 witnesses had testified in the matter, including Robinah Kirinya, a principal analyst from the Government Analytical Laboratory, who told court that the gunshot residues were found on Kanyamunyu's clothes.

Two months ago, Kanyamunyu, however, reached out to Akena's family and apologised to them.

"To be honest, I would be lying to you if I told you that I have fully comprehended the tragedy of that day up to today. The foolishness, the evil that I exhibited on that day is not something I knew was in me but now I recognise that deep within me there is evil that I do not know about," Kanyamunyu told a team of clan leaders and elders when asked what his motive was at the time of committing the offence.


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