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 long-running case over the kidnapping and killing of Susan Magara, a daughter of businessman John Magara. According to The Observer, Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji found Yusuf Lubega, Mahad Kisalita, Ismail Bukenya, Abubaker Kyewokya, Hassan Wasswa, Abbas Musa Buwembo, Hussein Kato Miiro, Hajjara Nakandi and Muzamir Ssali guilty of kidnap with intent to obtain a ransom and murder.

The court heard that Magara was abducted in Lungujja, Kampala, on 7 February 2018 and held for nearly three weeks before she was killed. The prosecution said her family was first asked for a very large ransom, later reduced through negotiations, and that payment did not secure her release. Evidence described in the judgment included phone records, forensic material, witness testimony and items linked to ransom collection and the disposal of her body.

The Observer reported that the judge relied on multiple strands of evidence to conclude the group acted together and that some of the accused later acquired property and vehicles soon after the ransom was paid, which the court treated as circumstantial evidence of benefit from the crime. The paper said the defence disputed the telecoms evidence and the direct link to the offences. The ruling is significant because it closes one of Uganda’s most closely watched criminal trials and moves the case to sentencing, which the court was expected to consider next.