The High Court in Kampala has sentenced notorious criminals Aloysius Tamale alias Young Mulo and John Bosco Mugisha alias Kaihura, also known as Mukiga, to 150 years in prison each for the murder and aggravated robbery of a boda-boda rider.
The latest sentence adds 80 years to the 70-year prison term each man is already serving for similar offences.
Justice Alex Ajiji Mackay handed each convict 40 years for murder and another 40 years for aggravated robbery. The two sentences will run consecutively, meaning they will serve the full 80 years.
The judge further ordered the new 80-year sentence to run consecutively with the 70 years previously imposed on the two men, bringing their total sentence to 150 years each.
The latest case relates to the killing of a male boda-boda rider on 29 May 2019 in Kanisa Zone, Makindye Division, Kampala.
According to prosecution led by Chief State Attorney Happiness Ainebyoona, Tamale and Mugisha hired the rider and later directed him to an area near Makindye Primary School.
Prosecution told court that Tamale struggled with the rider, causing him to fall, before Mugisha allegedly picked up a concrete block and struck him on the head.
The two men allegedly left the rider unconscious and fled on his red Bajaj Boxer motorcycle, registration number UEO.
The victim was later found lying in a pool of blood in a compound in Kanisa Zone. Police recovered a concrete block from the scene, which the prosecution said was believed to have been used in the attack.
A postmortem examination established that the rider had suffered severe head injuries, including a fractured skull. His death was attributed to a brain injury caused by blunt-force trauma.
The prosecution relied on CCTV footage showing the attack as well as statements allegedly made by the two convicts, in which they implicated themselves in the robbery and killing.
The State had asked the court to sentence both men to death, describing them as dangerous repeat offenders who had shown no remorse.
Prosecution said the two had previously been convicted in three separate cases involving murder and aggravated robbery and sentenced to a combined 70 years each by Justice Margaret Mutonyi.
The State further told court that police investigations had linked the two men to other robberies and killings involving boda-boda riders.
Prosecution argued that a severe sentence was necessary to protect the public and deter other criminals from committing similar offences.
However, defence lawyer Richard Kumbuga opposed the death penalty and asked the court to consider the time the two had already spent on remand.
He argued that the convicts were still young and capable of reforming, asking the court to impose 15 years in prison each, with the period spent on remand taken into account.
Tamale also pleaded for leniency, although he denied involvement in the latest murder. He asked the court to order any new sentence to run concurrently with the 70-year term he is already serving.
Justice Ajiji said the seriousness of the offence and the convicts’ previous criminal record warranted a substantial custodial sentence.
The judge said the court had a responsibility to protect society from repeat offenders and therefore imposed the additional 80-year sentence on each convict.
However, he declined to impose the death penalty, noting that the two men were already serving lengthy prison terms and that the additional 80 years would keep them out of society for a very long time.
