One of the suspects in the murder of Maria Nagirinya, a former employee of Community Integrated Development Initiative who was kidnapped from her gate in Busega Lungujja together with her driver, Ronald Kitayimbwa and bodies later recovered in Mukono has pleaded guilty to murder charges.
Isaac Ssenabulya, alias Kisunsu on Monday pleaded guilty during the ongoing trial at the High Court in Kampala.
Evidence
Ssenabulya’s plea came after the state prosecutors, Jonathan Muwaganya and Timothy Emerit presented evidence pinning him to the murder.
Muwaganya told court that in the evening hours, Nagiriya left Kampala for Nalumuye in company of a one Jane Ndibaasa to visit their sick friend called Silvia Nakayenga and that at around 10:00Pm Nagirinya called her driver Ronald Kitayimbwa to help and drive them back home since it was late.
“They first drove off Jane at her home in Nsambya and after proceeded to Nagirinya’s home in Lugujja. As Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa waited to have their gate opened they were attacked by a group of assailants at 11PM,”Muwaganya told court.
The prosecutor said the group appeared on motor cycles and they put the victims on gun point using toy guns, kidnapped both of them and confined them in their same vehicle registration number UBA 5070B , a Toyota Spacio and they drove off towards the direction of Mukono.
“The accused person A8 Isaac Ssenabulya was among the assailants who drove the victim’s vehicle as the others remained using motor cycles. The group drove up to a place in Mukono located along Kayunga road where A8 together with his colleagues first removed Kitayimbwa from the car, beat him several times using logs on his head and other parts of his body and killed him instantly,” Muwaganya said.
“They went to Nagirinya pulled her out of the car an A8 and his colleagues used a car jerk hit her on the head several times until she died. Both bodies where dragged off the road and dumped. Before they were killed, A8 and his colleagues had forced them to disclose their phone pins as well as their mobile money pins.”
The prosecutor said the accused later drove off with the vehicle and their properties including phones and the next day on August, 29, the vehicle was found abandoned at Nateete and that through telephone tracking it was discovered that the assailants had withdrawn shs260,000 from Nagirinya’s phone account and shs24000 from Kitayimbwa’s account.
On Monday, when the trial magistrate asked Ssenabulya to comment about the evidence provided by the state, he admitted that everything said was true.
“Everything said is true and I would want to apologize to the families of the deceased,”Ssenabulya told court.
In response, the trial judge, Isaac Muwata convicted him on his own plea of guilty.
Mitigation
In mitigation, the state prosecutor, Jonathan Muwaganya told court that whereas Ssenabulya doesn’t have any criminal record, the offence carries a maximum sentence of death and asked that court sentences him to death.
“We pray that the convict is given a maximum sentence. We know that the death sentence is no longer mandatory but we submit that it is still a good sentence deserving,”Muwaganya said.
“My lord you are aware that court is dealing with a double murder of two innocent human beings. This court is enjoined with a noontide to administer a punishment related to the offences committed. We plead for a sentence that should serve as a punishment and other would be offenders of this nature. The offense was pre-mediated and as such was committed.”
The state prosecutor said kidnaps and robberies are rampant and that it is therefore prudent that court gives a sentence that would serve justice.
“ We want to submit that the victim in the names of Nagirinya left an elderly father who has never recovered from that incident, her follower has never showed up in public. Kitayimbwa left behind a 26yr old wife with 5 children with the eldest being 9 years,”Muwaganya said.
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“My Lord even the maximum sentence cannot atone the damage that was caused by the convict. Even asking for the maximum sentence is so little. He is a young bodied man who had the ability to work but he misused his body to commit this crime.”
Speaking in response, Ssenabulya’s lawyer, Julius Sserwambala said the convict is being rehabilitated, adding that being a first offender, he is capable of reforming to become a useful person in society.
“ He has not wasted court’s time and the tax payers money. He conceded right away at the police station and has pleaded guilty. He has been remorseful and has expressed interest to apologize. The state has not demonstrated that there was any planning to commit the crime as the convict did not know the victims,”Sserwambala said.
He asked court for a lenient sentence of at most 15 years imprisonment.
In his own words, Ssenabulya asked court to be forgiven for he has learnt a lesson .
“I pray to be forgiven by the family of the deceased people. For the time I have spent in Kigo Prison, I have learnt a lot of things and because of my good behaviors I was given a leadership position in the kitchen,”Ssenabulya told court.
The trial judge, Isaac Muwata set February, 22 as the date for sentencing Ssenabulya.
The trial however resumes today with six other accused persons still battling with murder charges.
