Court martial sets date to decide Luzira killer’s fate
Lance Corporal Hebert Rwakihembo appears before the General Court Martial in Makindye, Kampala for his appeal against his last year’s sentence yesterday. The court is to deliver judgment on his appeal on May 23.
PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
Lance Corporal Rwakihembo was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was found guilty of shooting and killing three people.
Kampala- The General Court Martial has set Friday next week to deliver its judgment on the appeal by a soldier who was convicted for shooting three people dead and injuring one in Luzira in 2012.
Lance Corporal Herbert Rwakihembo was sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Division Court Martial at Luzira. He appealed against both the conviction and sentence.
The appellate military court at Makindye set the judgment day after completing the hearing of Rwakihembo’s appeal on Thursday.
In January 2013, a Division Court Martial (DCM) sitting at Luzira Church of Uganda Primary School found Rwakihembo guilty of three offences of manslaughter and attempted murder.
Through his lawyers, Rwakihembo faulted the lower military court chaired by then Col Godfrey Kakama, for failing to appropriately evaluate prosecution evidence which he says was marred with incurable inconsistences.
Dressed in civilian wear amidst tight security of both the prison and military police, Rwakihembo appeared before the military court chaired by Brig Moses Ddiba Ssentongo and described the punishment as ‘harsh’.
He also challenged the court how a charge of murder was reduced to manslaughter and maintained attempted murder, a charge upon which the court sentenced him to five years.
The lower military court held that he had no malice aforethought citing provocation that could have tempted any other ordinary person to behave the same. The court sentenced him to 30 years in jail on the three counts of manslaughter and five years for attempted murder.
