Col Kaka's son appeals against his 32-year sentence

A prison warder holds the hand of Brian Bagyenda as Innocent Bainomugisha and Vincent Rwahwire, his alleged accomplices in the murder of his girl friend Enid Twijukye, a former student of Ndejje University look on during a court session at Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s court in 2017. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Through their lawyers of Nsubuga Mubiru & Co. Advocates, the notice further states that the grounds of their appeal shall be formulated and lodged after receiving the record of proceedings from High Court.
  • Bagyenda had in his defence noted that he murdered his girlfriend while in unstable mental state. However, court held otherwise that his actions before and after the murder, pointed to him as a person who was in his normal mental state.

Brian Bagyenda, the son to the Director General of Internal Security Organization (ISO) who was sentenced to 32 years in prison for murdering his girlfriend, has appealed against his conviction and sentence.

Bagyenda, a pharmacist by profession together with his two accomplices Innocent Bainomugisha and Vicent Rwahirwe where last month handed a 32-year sentence for the murder of Enid Twijukye. The trio have since filed a notice of appeal.

"Take notice that A1 (Bagyenda), A2 (Bainomugisha) and A3 (Rwahirwe) being dissatisfied and aggrieved with the whole of the decision and judgement of Justice Moses Kazibwe Kawumi of the High Court of Uganda delivered on February 17, 2020, appeals to the Court of Appeal by which the appellant was convicted of murder C/S 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act and was sentenced to 32 years imprisonment," reads in part the notice of appeal.

Through their lawyers of Nsubuga Mubiru & Co. Advocates, the notice further states that the grounds of their appeal shall be formulated and lodged after receiving the record of proceedings from High Court.

Bagyenda had in his defence noted that he murdered his girlfriend while in unstable mental state. However, court held otherwise that his actions before and after the murder, pointed to him as a person who was in his normal mental state.

He had further through his lawyers, argued that he was burdened by depression at the time he committed the murder, which rebutted the presumption of sanity and responsibility for his consequences of any acts or omissions under section 11 of the Penal Code Act.

“It’s my finding that A1 (Bagyenda) was in his right senses on the January 4, 2017 and together with A2 (Innocent Bainomugisha) and A3 (Vincent Rwahwire) caused the death of Enid Twijukye with malice aforethought,” ruled justice Kazibwe.

He continued: “It is also my finding that A1 (Bagyenda) was mentally sound at the time that Dr Santos Ojara examined him on the January 21, 2017 and the plea was properly taken since the concern about his inability was not raised by the counsel at the time. I entirely agree with the opinion of the single lady assessor who sat through all the hearings and advised me to find all the accused guilty.”

The judge in his analysis forming his reasoning to convict Bagyenda, stated that a perusal of expert witness showed a commonality of agreement on salient issues concerning depression as a disease of mind.

The judge went on to quote the evidence of Dr Ojara and Sr Jane Frances Nantamu that depression is not a permanent state with Dr Nantamu referring to depression as “mood swings”

Most importantly, the judge quoted Dr Julius Omuron and Dr Brian Mutamba that not all mental illness patients lose their faculty of determining what is right or wrong until they hit severe levels and that Bagyenda’s own narration of events of the fateful day in his confession statement, pointed to his normal state of mind while he committed the crime.

The judge went on to state that the experts on mental health agreed that Bagyenda did not display homicidal tendencies during their respective interactions with him before and after the offense was committed.

Prosecution stated that on January 4, 2016 at Njobe Road in Nakawa division, Bagyenda and his two accomplices murdered Twijukye.