Supreme court orders transfer of Kasiwukira murderer to Luzira from Kasese

The Supreme court has ordered Kasese prison authorities to transfer Luzira Upper prison, a police officer, Ashraf Jayden who was found guilty of murdering Kampala city businessman Eriya Bugembe Ssebunya aka Kasiwukira.

Kasiwukira was killed by a speeding vehicle on October 17, 2014, while jogging near his home in Muyenga, a Kampala suburb. Yesterday Wednesday, court presided over by justice Christopher Izama Madrama ordered that the former Muyenga police station officer, Jayden be transferred to Kampala to enable him to argue against his 22-year jail term that was handed to him for the murder in question.

In 2016, late High court judge Wilson Masalu Musene convicted Sandra Nakungu (cousin to Kasiwukira’s wife, Sarah Nabikolo) and Jaden on grounds that they had exhibited intentions of murdering the businessman. During the trial, the prosecution presented to court video footage showing that Jaden had unsuccessfully attempted to kill Kasiwukira on two different occasions. 

Musene also established that Nakungu owned the vehicle that Jaden used to knock Kasiwukira. He subsequently sentenced the duo to 20 years in Luzira for murder. He acquitted Kasiwukira’s widow Nabikolo on grounds that “her name was never mentioned anywhere in the video clip that was presented to court about the plot to kill Kasiwukira despite the fact that state witness, Richard Byamukama implicated her for financing the attack on her husband.

Musene noted that the third person in the video clip was only referred to as ‘madam’ without any specific mention of Nabikolo. As a result, Nakungu and Jaden appealed their convictions and sentences in the Court of Appeal but they were upheld. The DPP also appealed the acquittal of Nabikolo, but she also equally lost.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal, Nakungu and Jaden appealed to the Supreme court and the matter came for a pretrial hearing on Wednesday. The convicts argue that Musene convicted them on defective charges, and denied them a chance to present their witnesses, thereby denying them their constitutional right and entitlement to a fair trial, an illegality they say was upheld by the Court of Appeal. 

Jaden’s appeal was among the 15 criminal cases that were fixed for the pre-hearing session. During the session, Jayden and Nakungu who is also serving the same jail sentence at Luzira women’s prison followed the proceedings via Zoom and they were given state-sponsored lawyer Andrew Ssebugwawo to represent them.

They have now been given timelines within which to file written submissions before the case is fixed for hearing before a panel of five Supreme Court justices.