Tragedy as 16-year-old pours acid on girlfriend in love brawl
Family and friends of the late Justine Namanda, who died after an acid attack, protest at Prisons headquarters on Parliamentary Avenue last month. They were demanding that her husband Sulaiman Kakaire, who is accused of coordinating the people who committed the act, be produced in court after the case was adjourned. Photo by Abubaker Lubowa
KAMPALA- November 15, 2009, started as any other normal day in the love life of 16-year-old Muzamiru Kayongo, alias Kuzaifah, and his girlfriend Faith Mugabiirwe, aged 14.
The love day that later took a tragic turn began with Kayongo visiting his girlfriend at her home in Nsambya, a Kampala suburb.
There had been noticeable tension in the affair and Kayongo sought to have their differences resolved. Kayongo’s intention was to ask his girlfriend to meet him at his rented house in the neigbourhood and indeed she did.
Mugabiirwe, however, did not visit her boyfriend alone. She went along with a friend whose name has been withheld because she is a minor.
Upon reaching Kayongo’s house, her friend remained outside since the two lovebirds needed privacy to discuss their love issues. Mugabiirwe’s friend excused herself and visited her other friends in the same neighbourhood as the two lovers indulged in a conversation of passion.
About 10 minutes later, she heard her friend screaming and fleeing her boyfriend’s room. Her clothes were burning.
“After about 10 minutes, I heard some loud screams and on looking around, I saw her (Mugabiirwe) running out of Kayongo’s house wailing and all her clothes were torn,” the friend says in her statement to police.
Sad end
Her friend adds that Mugabiirwe’s screams attracted residents who came to rescue her. She was taken to Mulago National Referral Hospital but she was pronounced dead on arrival.
A postmortem report revealed that the deceased died of extensive acid burns that had covered more than 70 per cent of her body.
Kayongo, who is now in prison for murdering his girlfriend, described the incident as an “accident” when the case came up for hearing before High Court judge Elizabeth Alvidza recently.
Kayongo pleaded guilty to the murder and was convicted but he was referred to the Family and Children’s Court for sentencing because he committed the offence when he was still a juvenile.
Recalling the incident, Kayongo narrated that on that fateful day, his girlfriend looked through his photo album that she had given him and saw a photo of another girl.
He said she concluded that the photo was for her rival and this enraged her.
“She removed it from her album and tore it into pieces,” Mr Kayongo told justice Alivdza.
“She then picked a knife ready to finish me off. She managed to stab me in the hand and I had to take off for my dear life to the next room. In self-defence, I picked a jar that contained a car battery acid and I poured it on her…”
He made the confession during a plea bargain session at the High Court. A plea bargain is a judicial process where an accused admits to the alleged offence and in return is given a lighter sentence than he/she would have received if he/she had denied the charge and been put through full trial.
However, Justice Alvidza was not convinced by Kayongo’s explanation and account of the events.
As the judge was still internalising his account of the incident, the deceased’s sister, who only identified herself as Mbabazi, chipped in and told court that Kayongo had been a habitual offender.
“This was not the first incident for Kayongo to pour acid on a person. There is another incident where the victim feared to report the matter to police as the offender was still at large as he would harm her more,” a sobbing Mbabazi told court.
“It is my prayer that if this man is being sentenced, he is given a tough penalty because he killed an innocent girl, the last born in our family and dear to us all. His action left our family sorrowful,” she added with tears streaming down her face.
Following this emotional submission, Justice Alvidza proceeded and convicted Mr Kayongo, aged 21 now, on his own plea of guilt.
However, the sentencing was reserved for another date and referred to the Family and Children’s Court.
Murder is a capital offence and a person who commits it is liable to a maximum sentence of death under the Penal Code Act.
“You seem to be naughty and you took it to your advantage for being young to commit the offence thinking you would always get away with it,” Justice Alvidza said while convicting Kayongo.
“Fortunately, you were lucky because you were brought before court, people out there cannot tolerate people like you. They are annoyed and bitter with your actions that would force them to kill you by way of mob justice,” the judge added.
“Kayongo, you still went ahead and stole a boda boda (motorcycle), a sign that you are a problematic person. If you had not done that, possibly they would not have arrested you. You need to reform,” the judge advised the killer.
An indictment sheet from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that was read out to Kayongo in open court, states that upon dowsing his friend with acid, he fled into hiding.
Kayongo was arrested on March 6, 2013, in connection with stealing a boda boda motorcycle. It is from here that the LC I chairperson was able to identify him before alerting the police that he had been on the run for pouring acid on his deceased girlfriend.
The police arrested and presented him at an identification parade where relatives of the deceased identified him as the killer of their daughter.
Kayongo was charged with murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act and he admitted culpability.
He is currently in Luzira prison as he awaits his day to appear before the Family and Children’s Court for sentencing. The date of the sentencing is yet to be set.
