The Court of Appeal in Kampala has upheld the 20-year sentence handed to Jackline Uwera Nsenga by the High Court over the murder of her husband, Juvenal Nsenga.
Three justices of the Court of Appeal including Alphonse Owiny-Dollo, Elizabeth Musoke and Cheborion Barishaki ruled that there was nothing that would warrant overturning the lower court’s earlier decision.
In 2014, Justice Duncan Gaswaga sentenced Nsenga to 20 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of knocking dead her husband as the climax of their domestic wrangles prompting her to appeal against the sentence. The then presiding judge Duncan Gaswaga ruled that based on the evidence presented before court, Nsenga could not have knocked her husband accidentally as claimed. According to the judge, prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accident which claimed Nsenga’s life was aforethought.
The trio explained that evidence adduced during trial indicated that there was no evidence to prove that by knocking dead her husband, Nsenga’s actions were accidental as she had said in her appeal.
The judges however noted that everything points to a premeditated murder by Nsenga against her husband after having misunderstandings in their marriage.
“We take the view that the appellant’s conduct in ramming into the gate which the deceased was opening for her was not accidental. It is immaterial that the appellant didn’t know that it was the deceased who was opening the gate as we would still have found her guilty of murder.” the judges added.
The judges of the Court of Appeal insisted that there was malice when Jackie Nsenga knocked dead her husband, noting that it cannot be proved directly by rather through circumstantial evidence as was done by the trial judge.
The also noted that the manner in which the deceased was repeatedly overran with the vehicle which resulted into his death also pointed to malice by Nsenga.
“Our analysis has shown that the offense of which the appellant was charged was proven beyond reasonable doubt. We therefor e conclude that any point which was wrongly decided by the trial judge did not occasion a miscarriage of justice. Accordingly, the trial court’s decision to convict the appellant of the offence of murder contrary to section 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act, cap 120 and to sentence her to 20 years imprisonment for that conviction is affirmed,” the judges ruled.