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Uganda v Nsamba & 3 Others (Criminal Session 245 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGHC 51 · 2025 Conviction Entered (A3); Acquittals Entered (A2, A4) AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance criminal trial for murder following not guilty pleas by three of four accused persons
Decision
A3 convicted of three counts of murder. A2 and A4 acquitted and set free unless held on other lawful charges.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that A3 Ssonko Samuel Muganga procured the killing of three children for ritual purposes through accomplices and was guilty of murder based on corroborated accomplice evidence showing he hired the killers, provided a deposit payment, and collected the victims' blood. A2 Mawanda Allan and A4 Obed Ssali Kiwanuka were acquitted due to insufficient evidence of participation. The court applied the standard that accomplice evidence requires corroboration but found sufficient material corroboration in post-mortem findings, scene evidence, and the consistency of the accomplice witness testimony.

Outcome

A3 convicted of three counts of murder. A2 and A4 acquitted and set free unless held on other lawful charges.

Facts

On 11 December 2019 at Kawanda B, Lwamata Sub-county, Kiboga District, three children (Natukunda Asina, Ayebale Nusura, and Mutesi Shurat) were murdered. A1 Nsamba John confessed that he and an accomplice named Patrick were hired by A3 Ssonko Samuel Muganga, who operated a hardware shop in Lwamata Trading Centre, to obtain human blood for ritual purposes. A3 promised payment of 20 million shillings and paid a 2 million shilling deposit. The children, who knew A1 well as he was their father's friend, were strangled with deep lacerations to their necks. One child's hand was amputated. Blood was collected in a bag along with the severed hand. The bodies were packed in sacks and left near the deceased's home. A1 and Patrick met A3 and two unknown men in A3's car at the scene. A3 drove them to Mogas Petrol station where they were dropped off, and A3 took the blood and severed hand. A ransom note with a telephone number was left at the scene. A2's telephone line received 500,000 shillings in ransom money, but evidence showed PW6 had borrowed A2's phone without his knowledge.

Issues

  1. Whether there was death of a human being.
  2. Whether the death was unlawful.
  3. Whether the death was a result of malice aforethought.
  4. Whether it is the accused persons who caused the death of the deceased.

Orders

  • A3 Ssonko Samuel Muganga convicted on all three counts of murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act.
  • A2 Mawanda Allan acquitted of all three offences charged.
  • A4 Obed Ssali Kiwanuka acquitted of all three offences charged.
  • A2 and A4 set free unless held on other lawful charges.

Rules and key headnotes

Murder — Ingredients — Death of a Human Being — Methods of Proof
Death of a human being may be proved by production of a post-mortem report, evidence of witnesses who knew the deceased and attended the burial, or saw the dead body.
Murder — Unlawful Homicide — Presumption of Unlawfulness
Any homicide (the killing of a human being by another) is presumed to have been caused unlawfully unless it was accidental or it was authorised by law.
Murder — Malice Aforethought — Inference from Injuries to Sensitive Parts of Body
Malice aforethought may be inferred where the weapon used and the parts of the body targeted (such as the neck or head) demonstrate an intention to kill or knowledge that the act will probably cause death.
Accomplice Evidence — Requirement for Corroboration — Material Particulars
Corroboration of accomplice evidence must be in some material particular tending to show that the accused committed the crime charged. It is not enough that the corroboration shows the witness told the truth in matters unconnected with the guilt of the accused.
Accomplice Evidence — Judicial Warning — Effect of Failure to Warn
A judge must warn himself and the assessors of the danger of acting on accomplice evidence without corroboration. However, failure to warn is not fatal to the accused's conviction if the judge made a finding that the evidence was corroborated.
Murder — Procurer — Liability under Section 19 of the Penal Code Act
A person who procures the commission of murder by hiring others to kill is a principal offender liable for conviction for murder where the prosecution establishes procurement and common intention with the actual killers.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (12)

  • Ssekitoleko v Uganda [1967] EA 531
  • Miller v Minister of Pensions [1947] 2 All ER 372
  • R v Gusambizi s/o Wesonga (1948) 15 EACA 65
  • R v Tubere s/o Ochen (1945) 12 EACA 63
  • Uganda v Oromcam Stephen and Others (High Court Criminal Session No. 93 of 2015)
  • Uganda v Kamuhanda Emmanuel (High Court Criminal Session No. 24 of 2012)
  • Mabira Siragi v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 7 of 2004)
  • Nansolo v Uganda [2003] EA 181
  • R v Baskerville (1916) 2 KB 658
  • Rwalinda John v Uganda (Supreme Court Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 2015)
  • Ramaeshwar V V.A 1952 sc. 54
  • Mureeba and Others v Uganda [2006] UGSC 7

Full judgment

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

Uganda v Nsamba & 3 Others (Criminal Session 245 of 2024) [2025] UGHC 51 (31 January 2025)
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.