Man jailed 45 years for killing ex-wife

A professional accountant, Mr Edward Lubega, who is a resident of Zirobwe Sub-county in Luweero District, will spend 45 years in jail after the High Court sitting in Luweero found him guilty of murdering his ex-wife.
Trial judge Vincent Okwanga in his verdict delivered on Friday, said Mr Lubega’s conduct was strange since he failed to condole with the family even after the news confirming that his ex-wife had died.
“You [Lubega] kept calling using your cell phone and did not even bother to go to school where your wife was working to find out what had happened. The distance from your place of work at Busiika in Luweero and that of the now deceased Flavia Namatta at Light High School Seguku is about 50kms, but you failed to reach that place,” ruled Justice Okwanga
He continued: “You tried to put up an alibi defence to distance yourself from the scene of crime, but the corroborating evidence and the circumstantial evidence adduced before court including the extra judicial statement recorded from you by her worship Gladys Kamasanyu puts you at the scene of crime and destroys your alibi.
“The too many phone calls you made between the time of disappearance of Namatta and the time her body was recovered without bothering to reach her place of work and condoling with the relatives is strange.”
Further in his judgment, the judge observed that the soured relationship that Lubega had with his deceased ex-wife after learning that she had got another lover coupled with his insistence of having invested a lot in her including taking her back to school, paying Shs1.5m as school fees for her son per term at Lake Side College Luzira, and his inquiries of whoever was visiting her by planting someone to watch over her movements, were signs of an insecure person.
During his trial, one of the prosecution witnesses and a police detective, John Bazibu, told court that Lubega, after an interrogation, led a team of investigators to Kyetume Village where he had buried the head of Flavia Namatta inside an anthill and to Damba Village in Wakiso District near River Mayanja where he had dumped her body.
Detective Bazibu further told court that Namatta’s head was wrapped in a green polythene bag.
During mitigation process, the prosecution side led by Ms Beatrice Alok, asked court to hand Mr Lubega a tough sentence on ground that there are rampant killings resulting from domestic violence, which court should discourage and warn the public against.
“The victim’s head was chopped off, an indication that the murder was premeditated,” Ms Alok said.
Mr Sowali Katamba, the defence lawyer, pleaded with court for a lenient sentence insisting that his client was a family man and a first-time offender.
“He was provoked by a lover whom he had provided for and dearly taken care of for a period of 13 years,” he pleaded with court.

Convict speaks
“My Lord, I ask for forgiveness. I am sick and suffer from asthma and ulcers. I ask court to forgive me for the act of murder because I have learnt a big lesson from the time I was arrested in 2016. My wife suffers from cancer and I have two children who need my care,” Lubega pleaded with court.
However, Ms Janat Nalubulwa, who is a sister of the deceased, told court that her family had forgiven Lubega who took away the life of her sister but prayed for a life imprisonment sentence.
“We have wasted a lot of our time coming to court because the convict continued to deny the charges until he was convicted. We pray for a life imprisonment sentence,” Ms Nalubulwa pleaded.
But Justice Okwanga upon hearing from all parties, sentenced the former accountant to 45 years in jail, likening his acts to those of a sadist.
“The act of chopping off the head and dumping the body separately in a river is an act of a sadist. Murders arising out of domestic violence are on the rise,” Justice Okwanga ruled.
“Courts as custodians of the law, have the duty to ensure a deterrent punishment for persons convicted in such acts and pass a warning to all persons who believe that domestic wrangle can be resolved by way of violence”.
He continued: “You saw how the relatives of the deceased broke down in court as a result of this act. The gravity of the offence including the mitigating factors call for a deterrent sentence. You will serve 45 years imprisonment but you have a right to appeal the sentence within 14 days after this ruling.”
The deceased was a matron at Light High School in Seguku on Entebbe Road.