The High Court in Kasese on Monday handed the lengthy jail sentence to Emmanuel Muhindo who was convicted for killing Emmanuel Masereka.
Court presided over by the Fort Portal Resident Judge Justice Akiiki Kiiza found out that on February 15, 2011, Muhindo while at Lyamibuza trading centre in Muhokya sub-county, killed Masereka.
The judge said that prosecution witnesses were consistent while testifying, something that lacked from the defense witnesses who were not coordinated.
According to prosecution, Muhindo used a hand-held hoe to kill the defense secretary as some errant residents of Lyamibuza village protested the deployment of police in the area.
The police were involved in night patrols to crack down on thieves who were picking peoples’ cotton from the gardens at night.
The judge said Muhindo was not merciful to the deceased despite the fact that he had pleaded for mercy after being hacked with a hoe the first time. Justice Kiiza said that prosecution witnesses in whose presence the offense was committed revealed to court that Muhindo never listened to the pleas from the deceased but instead hacked him several times.
State prosecutor Noah Kumya, who told court that the convict was a first offender, nevertheless asked for a maximum punishment of death adding that it will be in the interest of protecting the witnesses who stay in the same village.
Defense lawyer Solomon Orono told court that the convict is a young man with a wife and four children and he is the sole bread winner for the family. He asked for a lenient sentence of 14 years in jail.
However, Justice Kiiza ruled that at the age of 25, one is expected to be a law abiding citizen who would be helping in fighting crime in the area. He also said that by killing the defense secretary who is a law enforcer at the village level, Muhindo was trying to promote crime in the area.
He sentenced him to 45 years in jail.
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