By Lt. Col. Deo Akiiki and Andrew Irumba
Fort Portal: Private Lotukei Paul, attached to Bukara army detach, 06 Mountain Battalion 222 Mountain Brigade, has Friday been sentenced to 90 years imprisonment.
This was after the Mountain Division Court Martial Sitting at Muhoti Barracks in Fort portal, found him guilty of two counts of murder contrary to subsection 188 and 189 of the penal code act chapter 120.
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Court heard that on 30 October 2020 at about 8:00pm, Private Lotukei with malice unlawfully and intentionally shot and killed Nayebale Pamela (26 years) and her infant son Kusemererwa Owen (9months) after developing an argument with the former over a mobile phone in a bar at Kitumba Village, Nyakigumba Town council in Bunyangabu District.
While Passing the sentence, court Chairman Lt Col Felix Nyero said “based on the gravity of the offence committed and the evidence produced by the prosecution, the sentence is appropriate and this should serve as a lesson to others. UPDF is a people’s army that has zero tolerance to criminality”.
Despite the 36-year-old accused pleading not guilty to the offence, prosecution guided by Mountain Division legal officer and judge advocate Captain Ivan Nabireeba produced all evidence to prove the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt and based on that, the state lawyer Lieutenant Gabriel U Mavenjina asked the court to give a maximum sentence to the accused.
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Defence lawyer Lieutenant George W Kabanda requested the court for a lenient sentence for his client since he is a first time offender that has a big family of 5 wives and 18 children, and it was not his intention to kill. He also said that he was simply provoked since he was under the influence of alcohol and was therefore not in his full senses.
However, the Court Chairman, after passing the sentence, advised the convict to appeal against the ruling with in 14 days incase he is not satisfied with the judgement.
