Boda boda rider jailed 26 years over murder of his passenger loses bid to overturn sentence

The Court of Appeal in Kampala has dismissed an appeal in which a boda boda rider was sentenced to 26 year over murder.

The High Court in Kampala in 2018 sentenced Hassan Mayengo to 26 years and 4 months imprisonment where his co-accused Muhammad Nsimbe received a six-year and four months jail sentence.

According to court documents, in November 2014 in an incident that happened towards midnight, three brothers including Dickson Nakibinge(deceased) boarded a taxi along Entebbe road and on disembarking, they defaulted on payment.

They later hired a boda boda being ridden by Mayengo to take them to Ndejje-Kanyanya off the main Entebbe highway but a few minutes later, the driver and conductor of the taxi also boarded another boda boda to pursue the trio.

On realizing that they were being chased, the three brothers instructed the boda boda rider to stop as they jumped to the nearby bush for safety.

Later, the taxi driver and conductor also jumped off their boda boda rider and gave a chase to the three brothers.  Mayengo, also joined in the chase for the three brothers whom he had ridden on his motorcycle.

Whereas the two brothers disappeared, Dickson Nakibinge was caught near a well and was beaten to death by a mob that suspected him to be a thief.

Consequently, Police arrested the boda boda rider, (Mayengo) and Muhammad Nsimbe, another person who had been at the scene during the mob action.

Having been arraigned in court over murder, Justice Stephen Mubiru sentenced Hassan Mayengo to 26 years and 4 months imprisonment where his co-accused Muhammad Nsimbe was sentenced to six years and four months in jail.

Dissatisfied with the sentences, the duo ran to the Court of Appeal to challenge the punishments.

On Friday, a panel of three justices of the Court of Appeal including Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, and Remmy Kasule noted that they could not overturn the sentences for the duo.

“In determining and passing the sentence, the trial judge took into account the degree of culpability of the appellants in the killing of the deceased, the nature of weapon used in executing the crime, and the current sentencing practices," the justices noted.

The justices of the Court of Appeal said the High Court had found that the appellants continuously beat the deceased with an electric cable and mercilessly dragged him on the ground even when it was clear that he was weak and helpless and consequently died.

“We have reappraised all the evidence, circumstances, and case authorities as to the sentencing of the appellant. We find that the learned trial judge properly approached and addressed the issue of the sentence of the appellant,” the justices of the Court of Appeal said.

“The appellant is, therefore, to continue serving the sentence of imprisonment for 26 years and four months starting from the date of conviction of the trial court on July,12,2018.”

The judges said the same for Muhammad Nsimbe who is to serve a jail sentence of six years and four months.