Isaac Ssenabulya, the self-confessed murderer of former social worker Maria Nagirinya and her driver, Ronald Kitayimbwa will spend the next forty years in jail.
The High Court Criminal Division, Judge Isaac Muwata announced the sentence on Wednesday morning, a day after Ssenabulya pleaded guilty to the duo’s kidnap and murder in 2019.
He sentenced him to 40 years in jail on each of the counts but directed that he serves the sentences concurrently. He also said that the convict will serve 37 years given the fact that he had spent three years on remand since his arrest in 2019.
Justice Muwata explained that he had taken into account the fact that the convict was a first-time offender, who didn’t waste the court’s time and had apologized to the deceased’s families.
He noted that Ssenabulya is a young energetic man who can fend for himself other than resort to unlawful means for survival. He added that the murder put a big impact on the families of the victims. Ssenabulya is one of the seven suspects who were picked in connection to the kidnap and murder of the duo on August 28, 2019.
The other suspects included Raymond Marcos Okori, Isaac Ssenabulya alias Kisunsu, Hamza Kateregga alias Arsenal, John Kisekka alias Manumanu, John Lubega aka Barros, Hasan Kisekka, and Ivan Mutagubya.
However, on Tuesday, the state Attorney, Jonathan Muwaganya presented a letter from the DPP indicating that she was longer interested in prosecuting Okori prompting Justice Muwata to order his immediate release.
B13 Criminal Gang
The suspects who were involved in the murder of former social worker Maria Nagirinya and her driver, Ronald Kitayimbwa belong to B13, a notorious criminal gang in Nateete the high court criminal division heard Tuesday. Frank Nyakayiru, a senior investigator under the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) told the High court presided over by Justice Isaac Muwata he recieved instruction from his boss Colonel Charles Kahangire, the Director of Counter-Terrorism about the duo’s kidnap on August 28, 2019.
Nyakayiru, who appeared as one of the witnesses told the court that he immediately contacted the Directorate of Technical Intelligence (DTI) to provide him with the GPS location of the place where Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa had been kidnapped in Lungujja to try and establish the other people who were in the area at the time of the incident.
According to Nyakayiru, the call data record from Nagirinya’s phone showed that she had last called Benadeta Nakidde, and her sister only identified as Grace who opened for her at 10: 46 pm. He says that he later got information that two bodies had been dumped in Mukono along Kayunga road where he went and compared the phone numbers of the people that were at the kidnap scene at Lungujja and the crime scene in Mukono.
He explained on August 29th, 2019, Nagirinya’s sim card was removed and inserted in a techno phone and Shillings 260,000 was withdrawn at Nalukolongo. Nyakayiru says that on September 30, 2019, Shilings 24,000 was withdrawn from Kitayimbwa’s sim card at 6:25 pm in Kosovo in Lungujja before the sim card was placed in another phone.
He says that they tricked the lady who was talking with the person holding the phone where Kitayibwa’s sim card was placed and they established that she was residing at Bataka zone in Nabbingo where they arrested John Bosco Lubega alias Raster as the first suspect. Nyakayiru told the court that they found the suspect with Kitayimbwa’s sim card upon arrest.
During interogation, Lubega told detectives that he is a member of criminal gang B13 led by Coprian Kasolo alias Arsenal found in Mabiito zone ward in Nateete opposite the police station. Lubega lured Kasolo to come for an operation they had planned on September 8th, 2019 at 11 pm to robe people in Nateete where he was picked up together with Nasif Kalyango Muwonge who had accompanied him. This led to the arrest of other suspects who were involved in the murder.
Assistant Supretendant of Police (ASP), Aisha Birungi another witness from Kabalagala Police station told the court that in 2019 she was deployed at Katwe Police station as a scene of crime officer. Birungi told the court that ASP Gloria Rukundo from the homicide desk instructed her to visit the scene on Nateete Mackey road kitoolo zone where the kidnapper abandoned Nagirinya’s vehicle.
According to Birungi, when they opened the abandoned vehicle they found a blood-stained jek, which police suspected to have been used to hit the victims on the head.
Abdallah Kabuye, a mechanic who also testified in the case told the court that he saw an abandoned vehicle with double indicators in their area from the night till morning and informed the area chairperson who later called the police.
Justice Muwata adjourned the hearing to this morning for more witnesses to appear. The prosecution has lined up more than 30 witnesses. At least 8 witnesses have already testified in the matter. Nagirinya, a former employee of the Community Integrated Development Initiative was kidnapped together with her driver, Ronald Kitayimbwa on August 28, 2019, as she was entering her gate at her residence in Lungujja suburbs.
