Wakilii

Uganda v Musasizi Musa (Criminal Case 226 of 2022)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCRD 196 · 2023 Conviction Upheld on Guilty Plea — 35 Years Imprisonment AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Sentencing upon guilty plea to two counts of murder
Decision
Accused convicted on own guilty plea and sentenced to 35 years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently, less remand period

Observed later treatment

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Holding

Court sentenced a 25-year-old repeat offender to 35 years imprisonment on each of two murder counts to run concurrently, less remand period, after he pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend and her 3-month-old baby by strangulation and burning their bodies. Court characterized the convict as a serial killer having previously been convicted of murdering another girlfriend in similar manner, and held that the gruesome nature of the crimes, pattern of targeting female intimate partners, and status as repeat offender warranted a deterrent sentence despite guilty plea and youth.

Outcome

Accused convicted on own guilty plea and sentenced to 35 years imprisonment on each count to run concurrently, less remand period

Facts

Musasizi Musa murdered his girlfriend Kansime Violet and her 3-month-old baby Nakitende Abigail on 31 March 2021. He strangled Kansime Violet until she died. When the baby woke and cried, he smothered her to death by holding her mouth. He wrapped Kansime's body in curtains, carried it to near Nakulabye police station at night, bought paraffin and burnt it. The baby's body was burnt and decapitated. The convict had previously been convicted on 31 July 2023 in Criminal Case 224 of 2022 for murdering another girlfriend, Ahereza Mackline, in the same manner by strangulation and burning. He was arraigned on 4 September 2023, initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea to guilty on 23 October 2023. He admitted the facts and was convicted. He was 23 years old at the time of the offence and 25 at sentencing.

Issues

  1. What is the appropriate sentence for a repeat offender convicted of two counts of murder committed in a single transaction?
  2. Whether the convict's guilty plea, youth, and expressed remorse warrant a rehabilitative sentence rather than life imprisonment?
  3. Whether concurrent or consecutive sentences should be imposed for multiple murders committed in a single transaction?

Orders

  • Convict sentenced to thirty-five years imprisonment on each of the two counts of murder.
  • Period spent on remand from 31 March 2021 to 13 December 2023 (2 years, 8 months and 13 days) to be deducted, leaving a balance of 32 years, 3 months and 17 days.
  • Sentences to run concurrently.
  • Right of appeal against sentence only within 14 days.

Rules and key headnotes

Sentencing — Murder — Aggravating Factors — Serial Killing and Pattern of Intimate Partner Violence
Where an accused is convicted of murdering two persons and has a prior conviction for murdering another victim in the same manner, and all victims were intimate partners killed by the same method, the court may characterize the accused as a serial killer warranting a more severe sentence than for a first offence, notwithstanding youth and guilty plea.
Sentencing — Murder — Life Imprisonment — Discretionary Nature and Shorter Terms
Following the Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous (Amendment) Act 2019 section 4(2), a person liable to life imprisonment may be sentenced to any shorter term not exceeding fifty years, and life imprisonment as defined by section 4(1) means imprisonment for the natural life of a person without possibility of release.
Sentencing — Concurrent Sentences — Offences Committed in Single Transaction
Where multiple counts of murder are committed in a single transaction, the sentences imposed on each count should run concurrently rather than consecutively.
Sentencing — Mitigating Factors — Guilty Plea and Youth — Limited Weight Where Repeat Offender
A guilty plea and youthful age carry limited mitigating weight where the accused is a repeat offender who has committed multiple murders in a brutal and premeditated manner, and the need for deterrence and community protection outweighs rehabilitative considerations.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Penal Code Act s.188
  • Penal Code Act s.189
  • Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous (Amendment) Act 2019 s.4(1)
  • Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous (Amendment) Act 2019 s.4(2)
  • Constitution (Sentencing Guidelines for Courts of Judicature) (Practice) Directions 2013 Regulation 15

Cases cited (2)

  • Arinaitwe Richard v Uganda (Court of Appeal Criminal Appeal No. 595 of 2014)
  • Attorney General v Suzan Kigula and 417 Others (Constitutional Appeal No. 3 of 2006)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Uganda v Musasizi Musa (Criminal Case 226 of 2022) [2023] UGHCCRD 196 (13 December 2023)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.