The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Fort Portal, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Court Martial sitting at Muhooti Barracks in Fort Portal Tourism City has handed a Uganda People’s Defense Forces -UPDF soldier a 90-year sentence for murder.
Private Paul Lotukei was found guilty of murdering Pamela Nayebale, 26, and her nine-month-old son, Owen Kusemererwa, both residents of Kitumba village in Nyakigumba Sub County, Bunyangabu district.
Court, which was chaired by Lt Col Felix Nyero, heard that on October 30, Lotukei went to Valley Two Bar in Kitumba with his colleague and UPDF Doctor only identified as Thomas, and they started taking a local brew called Mukomboti.
Eyewitnesses said that Lotukei failed to pay 1,000 shillings for the local brew he had taken and when he went for a short call, Dr Thomas picked his phone that he had left behind and kept it.
The eyewitnesses added that when Lotukei returned, Dr Thomas asked him to pay his debt and when he failed, he gave the phone to Nayebale who was the bartender to keep until he is paid.
Upon failing to pay, Nayebale picked an Airtel line from Lotukei’s phone that reportedly had 500,000 shillings on its Airtel Money account and she handed the phone back to him.
Before being convicted, Lotukei told the Court Martial that he angrily threw the phone back at Nayebale and demanded that he is given back his line. He said when negotiations to get back his line failed, Dr Thomas picked the phone and promised to hand it over to him when they get back to their Bukara detach that is also in Bunyangabu district.
However, Lotukei also disagreed with him and he rushed to the detach where he picked his PK Machine Gun and went back to Valley Two Bar at around 8pm. At that time, Nayebale was behind the counter of the bar breastfeeding her baby.
Lotukei confessed that he immediately shot the two dead before returning to the detach where he was arrested the next morning. Dr Thomas has since disappeared from the detach.
Postmortem reports by Dr Jonathan Talemwa, the Rwenzori West Regional Police Surgeon, stated that the gunshots damaged several vital organs of Nayebale and her son leading to excessive bleeding and their eventual death
The defence lawyer, Lt George William Kabanza, argued that his client deserved a more lenient sentence because the circumstances under which he committed the crime were beyond his control. He argued that bars were supposed to be closed in accordance with President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
According to Kabanza, Lotukei could not have gotten drunk to shoot two people if the bar had heeded to the president’s directive. He also argued that the 36-year-old man was a first-time offender and sole breadwinner to his five wives and 18 children.
But the State lawyer, Lt Gabriel Mavenjina, proved to court that Lotukei had committed the crime with malice aforethought since he had testified that his mission was to shoot Dr Thomas and Nayebale dead.
Lt. Col. Nyero then ruled that Lotukei was guilty on two counts of murder, adding that since he killed a mother and her baby, the crime was the worst and deserved one of the highest sentences.
Christopher Kiiza, the grandfather of Kusemererwa, appreciated the sentence, saying that justice had been served. However, he said that in the process of seeking justice, he had spent some money that he acquired as a loan and he wanted UPDF to compensate him.
The Mountain Division UPDF Spokesperson, Capt George Musinguzi, said the Force is going to discuss the compensation issue. He also said that as UPDF, they do not tolerate criminals and the sentencing of Lotukei should serve as an example to the rest.
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