The High Court in Lira has sentenced Innocent Otim to 35 years in prison for the murder of National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) employee, Natal Alaru, in a case that shocked residents of Lira City West Division.
The sentence was delivered by Resident Judge Justice Sarah Birungi Kalibala after Otim entered a guilty plea, effectively bringing the prosecution phase to an early close.
Court records show that the murder took place in the early hours of April 2, 2025, at around 3:00 a.m. in Obutowelo B Cell.
The deceased, Natal Alaru, was on his way to Lira Bus Park to board transport to Moyo District when he encountered the attacker.
Prosecutors told court that Otim attacked Natal using a panga, inflicting severe head injuries. Neighbours rushed the victim to Lira Regional Referral Hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Subsequent police investigations led to key forensic and physical evidence linking the accused to the crime. A blood-stained panga was recovered from Otim’s residence and later confirmed by the Government Analytical Laboratory as the weapon used in the fatal assault.
Investigators also recovered two backpacks from an unfinished house near the suspect’s home. The bags contained the deceased’s personal belongings, including clothing, a national identity card, a driving permit, and ATM cards.
The prosecution, led by Jonathan Okello, Chief State Attorney in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, presented testimony from 10 witnesses before the court ruled that the accused had a case to answer.
It was at this stage that Otim changed his plea and admitted to the charge of murder.
The late Alaru had recently secured employment with NWSC in Lira. He is survived by his widow, whom he had recently married, and a one-and-a-half-year-old son.
His killing sent shockwaves through both his family and the wider Lira community, with colleagues describing him as a young employee whose life had just begun to stabilise.
While the conviction brings legal closure, the sentence also underscores the gravity of violent crime in urban centres and the growing reliance on forensic evidence in securing convictions.
