Thursday, 26 July 2012

Kampala City tycoon Kato Kajubi gets life sentence for child sacrifice



24But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. (Luke 6:24-25)


(7) For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. (8) And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. (9) But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. (10) For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:7-10)


FIRST READ:

SHOCKING CHILD SACRIFICE STORIES IN THE UGANDA PRESS

http://www.freewebs.com/kizitomg/3.htm

Kajubi jailed for life over ritual murder



Friday, 27 July 2012 00:08

Written by Sadab Kitata Kaaya

High Court sitting in Masaka yesterday sentenced Kampala businessman, Godfrey Kato Kajubi, to life imprisonment for the ritual murder of a 12-year-old boy, Joseph Kasirye.

Prosecution proved that Kajubi murdered Kasirye, a pupil of Kayugi primary school in Mukungwe sub-county in Masaka district, on October 27, 2008 in one of the ritual murders that shocked the nation.

Kasirye’s head and private parts were cut off and have, to date, never been recovered. The case was under a retrial after the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) successfully challenged the High Court decision that had, in an earlier trial, acquitted Kajubi of the gruesome murder.

Justice Moses Mukiibi had acquitted Kajubi, reasoning that prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was behind Kasirye’s murder. In appealing against the acquittal, the state argued that the trial judge failed to evaluate the evidence on record and came up with a wrong decision.

In their ruling, the three justices of the Court of Appeal sided with prosecution and said the 22 prosecution witnesses had proven the case against Kajubi beyond reasonable doubt.

The judges ruled that the trial judge erred in law when he acquitted Kajubi and on that basis, the appellant court ordered for retrial, before another judge. Reading his ruling before a fully packed courtroom in Masaka yesterday, trial judge, Justice Mike Chibita, said life imprisonment would act as a deterrent to all child tormentors.

“I want the children of Uganda to sleep happy tonight, knowing that one of their tormentors is now in prison for life,” Justice Chibita said.

Prosecution led by state attorneys Suzan Okalany and John Bosco Asiimwe presented 18 prosecution witnesses who pinned Kajubi. They included a witchdoctor, Umar Kateregga and his wife, Mariam Nabukeera, his earlier accomplices.

Prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Kajubi sponsored Kasirye’s ritual murder, which was carried out by Kateregga and Nabukeera. The duo was initially Kajubi’s co-accused before they later became prosecution witnesses and the DPP withdrew the indictments against them.

Justice Chibita said in his ruling yesterday that he found the evidence of witchdoctor and his wife useful and collaborative and, and said it had confirmed that indeed, Kajubi participated in the murder.

Kateregga and Nabukeera told court that after Kasirye’s murder, his head and privates were cut off, wrapped in a polythene bag and packed in a box before they were handed to Kajubi. It was Kateregga that led the police to a swamp in Kayugi where Kasirye’s torso had been dumped.

A medical report indicated that the boy died after his head, neck and genitalia were severed using a sharp object. Justice Chibita said in his ruling that Kajubi knows where Kasirye’s missing body parts are since they were handed to him.

The judge concurred with prosecution that a computer printout of the mobile phone numbers of Kajubi (0772700921) and Kateregga (0773717631) confirmed that the two communicated before, during and after the murder.

Furthermore, Justice Chibita said, the fact that Kajubi went into hiding after the Court of Appeal had ordered a retrial was an indication of his guilt. Kajubi evaded arrest for more than one and a half years until he ran out of luck in December 2011 when he was arrested from a shrine in Lweza A Zone near Kajjansi, a Kampala suburb.

He was later transferred to Masaka, where he was retried. Prosecution had pushed for the maximum sentence of death, but Kajubi’s lawyer, Fred Kamugunda, had asked court for lenience, arguing that his client was the sole breadwinner for 27 family members. Kajubi, who was nervous throughout the judgement session, broke down in tears when the sentence was announced.

Kajubi murder case timeline

  • October, 27, 2008: Joseph Kasirye (deceased) disappears from his grandfather’s home in Masaka and is brutally murdered.
  • October 28, 2008: Kasirye’s body is recovered in a swamp in Kayugi near lake Kayugi in Masaka.
  • October 28, 2008, Umar Kateregga and Mariam Nabukeera arrested (first suspects)
  • December 2008: Kato Kajubi arrested in connection with the ritual murder
  • August, 6, 2009: Trial begins in High Court, sitting in Masaka; DDP withdraws charges against Kajubi’s co-accused, Kateregga and Nabukeera, and turns them into key prosecution witnesses.
  • April 22, 2010: Justice Moses Mukiibi acquits Kajubi and ordered for his release.
  • July 2010: Joseph Mugwanya, father of the deceased, petitions High Court seeking Shs 1bn as compensation from Kajubi for his son’s death.
  • November 2010: Court of appeal orders Kajubi’s retrial following an appeal against the conviction by the state; Kajubi goes into hiding.
  • December 19, 2011: Kajubi arrested in a shrine at Lweza, in Kajjansi near Kampala and is taken to Masaka for retrial under Justice Mike Chibita
  • March 2012: Justice Elizabeth Musoke throws out Munyagwa’s petition (seeking compensation) after the applicant’s loss of interest.
  • July, 26 2012: Justice Chibita convicts Kajubi of murder and sentences him to life imprisonment.

 

City tycoon Kato Kajubi gets life sentence

http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/633426-city-tycoon-kato-kajubi-gets-life-sentence.html


Publish Date: Jul 26, 2012

Godfrey Kato Kajubi
By Online Reporter

Court
in Masaka has sentenced Kampala City Tycoon Godfrey Kato Kajubi to life imprisonment.



Masaka High Court judge Justice Michael Chibita convicted Kajubi of ritual murder.


He read his ruling to a packed court room Thursday afternoon. His ruling was welcomed by Masaka residents and the relatives of the deceased who said justice had been delivered.

The case was under a retrial after the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) challenged the High Court decision to acquit Kajubi.


Prosecution said Kajubi is sponsored the ritual murder of a 12 year old Joseph Kasirye a pupil of Kayugi Primary School in Mukungwe sub-county in Masaka district on October 27, 2008.


Kajubi’s co- accused Mariam Nabukeera and Umar Kateregga were turned into prosecution witnesses to pin Kajubi.

 

Kato Kajubi sentenced to life in prison

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Kato+Kajubi+sentenced+to+life+in+prison/-/688334/1463788/-/lwr2kb/-/index.html

By Michael J. Ssali & Anthony Wesaka 


Posted  Thursday, July 26  2012 at  15:25
The High Court in Masaka has this Thursday convicted city businessman Kato Kajubi for the 2008 murder of Joseph Kasirye. He was sentenced to life in prison by the presiding judge, Mike Chibiita.

Mr Kajubi was accused of hiring Umar Kateregga, a witchdoctor, and his wife Mariam Nabukeera to slaughter Kasirye for ritual purposes.

Prosecution alleged that the businessman took Kasirye’s head and genitals to be used in “cleansing” his real estate businesses after the sacrifice.

The presiding judge, Mike Chibita, said that the prosecution had produced sufficient evidence to squarely prove that Kajubi had taken the body parts.

The crime was committed in October 2008.