By Spy Uganda
Kampala: City businessman, Mathew Kanyamunyu has been sentenced to 5 years and one month in prison after he entered a plea deal with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
READ ALSO: Court Postpones Kanyamunyu Murder Trial To October 27
Kanyamunyu and his co-accused girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari had initially denied shooting and killing the late Akena back in 2016 In Lugogo parking lot after the deceased allegedly knocked their car.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari has been set free by the court after the DPP withdrew charges against her.
Last week, high Court judge Steven Mubiru dismissed an application in which Matthew Kanyamunyu had asked court to stay his trial until he concludes Mato Oput, a traditional justice system (in Acholi) and plea bargaining with the office of the DPP.
READ ALSO: Kanyamunyu Fined 10 Cows, 3 Goats By Traditional Court After Confessing Shooting Akena To Death
While dismissing the application, the judge pointed out that for quite a long period of time, the accused person had been given time to prepare for his trial but he has been misusing it which has led the case to transverse three criminal sessions.
He further advised Kanyamunyu that in case he needed the court to consider his plea bargain, he should first surrender his rights of innocence for the court to give him the audience to negotiate on the suitable punishment.
In the same vein, the judge asked the prosecution to take extra measures while handling the plea bargaining process because the accused has not given an explanation why it has taken him so long to change his plea, adding that he may end up abusing the whole process.
READ ALSO: Hearing Of Kanyamunyu Murder Case Flops Again, Pushed To 2020
Kanyamunyu was arrested in 2016 on suspicion that he shot Keneth Akena after he reportedly accidentally knocked his car in a parking lot in Lugogo, Kampala and in the process, Akena stepped behind to apologize to Kanyamunyu for the accident, but Kanyamunyu instead lowered the window of his car and shot him in the stomach with a pistol at a close range and according to the family, a postmortem report revealed two bullets inside Akena’s body.
Akena died a few hours later at Norvic hospital along Bombo Road where he was rushed by the accused. Kanyamunyu has since then been on trial together with his Burundian girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari and sibling Joseph Kanyamunyu who allegedly hid the killer gun.
But throughout the trial, Kanyamunyu and his girlfriend insisted that they only took Akena to hospital as good samaritans, but in an alleged dying declaration, Akena reportedly told his relatives that he was shot by the same people who took him to hospital.
