Case hospital accountant killers deserve death, says Museveni
President Museveni has said the killers of Case Hospital accountant; Francis Ekalungar deserved death and not life sentence for taking away the life of an innocent soul.
Ekalungar was kidnapped in January 2018 along Buganda road as he proceeded to deposit shs15 million on Case Hospital Dfcu bank account and killed.
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The body was later dumped in Kajjansi after being burnt beyond recognition.
Last week, the High Court in Entebbe sentenced Muzamiru Mawa, a former driver to Case Hospital proprietor, Dr.Ssebale Kato, Resty Nalunga, Huzailu Kiwalabye and Deo Yiga to life imprisonment, five, 25 and seven years’ imprisonment respectively .
Speaking at the function to swear in six new judges at State House Entebbe, Museveni insisted that court should have considered death sentence for the convicts over the gruesome murder.
“These people conspired to kill the accountant. Now one was given a life sentence, did the one they killed given life sentence? Was death Sentence abolished? The Case Clinic case will be appealed,” he said.
Following the 2011 landmark Suzan Kigula judgment, death sentence is no longer mandatory upon conviction on capital offences but judges have a discretion on whether to impose a death sentence or not.
In 2011, the Supreme Court held that life imprisonment means locking up a convict for the rest of their natural life.
However, the Uganda Prisons Act, 2006 states that for the purpose of remission life imprisonment means 20 years in jail.
Speaking on Wednesday, the president also for the umpteenth time expressed displeasure to the judiciary over the issue of granting bail to murder suspects.
“For somebody to kill a person and you give them bail is provocation. It is abominable. I would like us to sure this ideological disagreement. This bail, what is the hurry? Who are you trying to please? Who said bail is a right? It is not in the Constitution. We are going to work on this. I am going to summon the NRM caucus and if necessary, we put it to a referendum. With this provocation, people will take the law into their hands,” he said.
Museveni urged the judiciary to address the issue of ideological differences when passing judgments on criminal cases to render justice to the victims of these crimes and to avoid the breaking of the law with impunity.
“However I am seeing an ideological problem between the way you are trained as lawyers and we the freedom fighters and then population. For somebody to kill a person and you give him bail that is provocation. Justice will lose meaning completely,” he said.
He cited cases in Lira and Karamoja in which 43 year old Akello Christine was murdered by her husband Alal Denis in Anai Ober Cell, Ober Ward in Lira City West.
Alal was later killed by a mod using the same panga he used to kill his wife.
He also cited the case of one Acucu in Karamoja who returned from jail after 10 years and found his wives married to other men and his cattle stolen.
He embarked on a cattle-raiding spree that resulted in counter attacks leaving hundreds dead.
President Yoweri Museveni however congratulated the young team of lawyers upon their appointments and noted that the two categories of officials sworn in as judges and justices.
The Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera commended government and President Museveni for enhancing the Judiciary budget which was increased from shs196 billion to shs357 billion.
“This increment will enable us go a long way in bringing justice nearer to the people of Uganda: our dream, in the medium term, is to bring justice to all the people of Uganda within a walkable distance,” he said.
Buteera said with the increased financial resources, the human resource challenge is to be addressed systematically each financial year starting this year with the recruitment plan of 2 Justices of the Supreme court, 14 Judges of the High Court, 10 Deputy Registrars among others.
The Deputy Chief Justice said that in a bid to extend services nearer to the people, the judiciary has undertaken a number of construction projects meant for housing court premises.
The judges and justices sworn in included Gashirabake Christopher, Chemutai Tom, Tweyanze Lawrence, Wagona Vincent, Alice Komuhangi and Nakacwa Florence.
https://nilepost.co.ug/2021/09/17/kitattas-brother-jailed-25-years-for-kidnap-murder-robbery-of-case-hospital-accountant/
