Magara murder suspects’ trial flops

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The trial of eight people accused of murdering Susan Magara has hit a snag over the reported illness of the witness.

When the matter came up for further hearing of the prosecution case on Wednesday (May 15, 2024), chief state attorney Sherifah Nalwanga who teamed up with senior state attorney Irene Nakimbugwe told court that Enock Kinene was unable to attend court due to ill health.

Kinene is a forensic expert from the police. He was expected to conclude his testimony in the matter.

“My lord, this matter was coming up for further hearing of the prosecution case. We were expecting prosecution witness number 17 (Kinene) to continue with his testimony but unfortunately today morning, we received a message from him that he is very sick and therefore unable to be with us today. For that reason, we pray for an adjournment my lord,” Nalwanga submitted.

Defence lawyers Richard Kumbuga, John Kabagambe, Samuel Wanda, and Zaina Nabukenya did not object to the prosecution’s request, prompting the presiding judge Alex Mackay Ajiji to adjourn the matter to May 29 for further hearing.

On March 25, the court watched a video clip showing a blow-by-blow account of how Susan’s killers made incessant demands for ransom money before murdering her.

The one-minute video clip was extracted from a flash disc by Kinene and it has since been admitted as part of the prosecution evidence.

The video shows a blindfolded Susan pleading to her family not to engage the police but instead send money to the kidnappers to release her.

In the video, Susan speaking in Runyoro is heard saying words that have been translated to mean, “Dad, don’t involve the police, just give them the money and they release me. Dad, please help me look for the money so that these people release me.”

The voice of a man is also heard in the background telling her what to say. However, it is only the man’s shadow that is seen.

The accused are Abbas Musa Buvumbo, Yusuf Lubega, Abubakar Kyewolwa, Hussein Wasswa, Muzamiru Ssali, Hassan Kato-Miiro, Amir Ismail Bukenya, Hajara Nakandi and Mahad Kisalita, the former imam of Usafi makeshift mosque in Mengo-Kisenyi.

Court has since heard that Susan, 28, a daughter to businessman John Magara was kidnapped on February 7, 2018, on Kabaka Anjagala road in Mengo as she drove back home in Lungujja in Rubaga division, Kampala district.

Her kidnappers then contacted the family and demanded $1m (about shillings 3.65 billion) before they could release her.

Unfortunately, she was murdered in cold blood and three weeks later her body was recovered from Kigo in Wakiso district on February 27, 2018, where it had been dumped despite the family having delivered $200,000 (about shillings 700 million) to the kidnappers.

Susan worked as a cashier at the Mengo-based Bwendero dairy farm belonging to her father Magara.

The prosecution alleges that the accused and others still at large on February 7, 2018, kidnapped Susan with the intent to procure a ransom for her liberation from the danger of being murdered.

The indictment indicates that Susan was a victim of a ransom scheme hatched by one Yakub Byensi, a former combatant with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels who hails from Bunyoro like Susan and that he was known to her family as well Lubega who used to work in Container Village with Susan’s mother. Byensi is still at large.

Armed with insider information, the suspects, according to the prosecution, started trailing Susan until they kidnapped her in Lungujja on her way home.

They allegedly first took her to Nakandi’s home in Nateete and later to Amir Bukenya’s home in Konge II Makindye from where her two fingers were cut off and sent them to her family to show their determination to murder her if ransom money was not paid.

The indictment indicates that the decision to kill Susan was because releasing her would expose the kidnappers.