Nine convicted over kidnap, murder of Susan Magara

What the report says

The High Court Criminal Division in Kampala has convicted nine people in the 2018 kidnapping and killing of Susan Magara, the daughter of businessman John Magara, according to The Independent Uganda citing URN. Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji found the group guilty of kidnapping Magara for ransom and murdering her after she was held for nearly three weeks.

The convicted are Yusuf Lubega, Mahad Kisalita, Ismail Bukenya, Abubaker Kyewokya, Hassan Wasswa, Abbas Musa Buwembo, Hussein Kato Miiro, Hajjara Nakandi and Muzamir Ssali. The court accepted prosecution evidence that Magara was abducted from Lungujja in Kampala on February 7, 2018, and later died between February 25 and 27, 2018. The judgment said the kidnappers contacted her family, demanded ransom, and used severe violence, including cutting off two fingers, to pressure payment.

The report says the court relied on witness testimony, telecommunications records, forensic analysis, and other exhibits to link the accused to the crime. It also noted that ransom money was paid, but Magara was never released. Her body was later recovered along the Entebbe Expressway, and a postmortem found she died from asphyxia due to manual strangulation.

The case has drawn continued attention in Uganda because of the brutality of the killing and the long delay before trial resolution. The court said sentencing and mitigation were expected the following day. The article also says two alleged masterminds remain at large, but their absence did not stop the convictions of the nine people before court.