The High Court in Kiboga has sentenced prison warder Moses Anguyo to death after convicting him of murdering four people, among them two prison officers and a one-and-a-half-year-old child.
Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga passed the sentence after weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the case.
Anguyo was sentenced to death on four counts of murder involving ASP Catherine Hope, Bright Akishuri, Sarah Ayebare and Salson Niwagaba.
He was also given two years’ imprisonment on each of two counts of aggravated robbery involving Grace Katusiime and Mary Nabayiga, and three years for threatening violence against his supervisor, SP Ivan Niwagaba.
In sentencing, Justice Kajuga cited several aggravating factors, including the killing of four people, the use of an AK-47 rifle, and the fact that two of the victims were public servants killed in the course of their duties.
The court also noted that the victims had allegedly been targeted on the basis of their tribal identity, and that Anguyo, a trained prison officer entrusted with a firearm, had breached the trust placed in him.
The judge further considered the impact of the killings on the victims’ families, noting that the offences had left six children orphaned and, she said, deprived the country of productive citizens, among them an architect, Sarah Ayebare.
The court ordered Anguyo to compensate Grace Katusiime with Shs35,000 for a stolen pair of trousers and Mary Nabayiga with Shs20,000 for an Arsenal jersey, based on the value of the loss admitted by both the prosecution and the defence and confirmed by the victims.
Anguyo has 14 days to appeal against the sentence.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) described the sentence as a solemn reminder of the seriousness with which the law treats the taking of human life and violent crime. It also extended condolences to the families of the deceased, saying the outcome demonstrated the commitment of the prosecution, police and Judiciary to ensuring accountability for grave crimes and to delivering justice to victims and their families.
