Case clinic accountant murder: Ring-leader jailed for life

Left to right: The four convicts Yiga Deogratious, Mawa Muzamiru, Resty Nalunga, and Huzairu Kiwalabye follow court proceedings at Entebbe Magistrates court on Wednesday. PHOTO/PAUL ADUDE

What you need to know:

  • The late Francil Ekalungar’s widow, Ms Christine Nabwire thanked God and the courts of law for dispensing justice for her late murdered husband.

The ring-leader in the brutal murder of the Case Clinic accountant, was yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment.
Mawa Muzamiru, the former driver of Case Clinic proprietor, Dr Ssebale Kato, was jailed for life. 

His accomplices including his wife Resty Nalunga, Yiga Deo, and Huzailu Kiwalabye received five, seven, and 25 years imprisonment respectively.

Life imprisonment means being in prison for the rest of one’s life unlike before when it used to be 20 years imprisonment.
The four killed Francis Ekalungar on January 2, 2018.

While sentencing the four, presiding judge, Yasin Nyanzi, disagreed with State Attorney Ramlah Damba, who had asked for the maximum punishment of a death sentence, reasoning that upon murdering Ekalungar, they went ahead to burn his body beyond recognition.

“In this case, death occurred as a result of a robbery. Both robbery and death occurred when the convicts were working as a group. Nevertheless, I don’t agree that this case is one of the rarest of rare to impose the death sentence,” Justice Yasin Nyanzi held.

The judge observed that although Mawa pleaded guilty on his own plea, the same good gesture did not erase the other ingredients of the crime from the kidnap to robbery, murder, and mistreatment of the dead by burning.

“For those reasons although I heard and considered all the mitigating circumstances for Mawa Muzamiru, I only find that I should spare him the death punishment but keep him for the rest of his human life in prison and consider the time spent on remand as academic.” ruled the judge.

Turning to sentencing Nalunga, Justice Nyanzi observed that five years are sufficient for her since she was misled by her husband.

Justice Nyanzi said there were factors in her statement that show lack of preparation for the commission of the offence.
“According to State witnesses, Nalunga was directed by her husband to spy on a thief, who stole drugs from his employer, the employer being Case Clinic, she agreed. That explains why during her arrest, the investigators never took her serious, arrested her and even returned her phone, all other phones were recovered and exhibited before court, Nalunga’s was not.” he said.

“I accordingly, sentence Nalunga Resty to a period of five years in prison. She has already served three years and eight months, she will now serve the remaining one year and four months,” the judge held.

According to the prosecution, on January 2, 2018, Mawa Muzamiru and the other three convicts robbed Francis Ekalungar of money, his mobile phone, and Toyota Premio as he was heading to dfcu Bank to deposit Shs15m on the Case Clinic’s account.

Ekalungar’s family speaks out
The late Francil Ekalungar’s widow, Ms Christine Nabwire thanked God and the courts of law for dispensing justice for her late murdered husband.

“I want to thank God and the Justice Nyanzi for the justice dispensed on our side. The Lord is very great, we have faced so many challenges since the passing of my husband. We feel at least justice has prevailed and pain in our hearts has reduced a bit,” she said.