The High Court in Kampala has sentenced two men to an additional 40 years in prison for the murder and robbery of a boda boda rider, bringing their total jail terms to 110 years each.
Aloysius Tamale alias Young Mulo and John Bosco Mugisha alias Mukiga were convicted of murdering Derrick Muwonge, a boda boda rider, in Kakeeka, Mengo, in 2019.
The two became widely known after CCTV footage of the incident circulated on social media, showing them attacking Muwonge before stealing his motorcycle.
The footage showed the two men choking Muwonge and hitting him on the head with a hammer before leaving with his motorcycle.
On Monday, High Court Judge Alex Ajiji sentenced each of the convicts to 40 years imprisonment for the murder.
The prosecution had asked court to impose the death penalty on each of the men, citing the gravity of the offence.
However, Justice Ajiji said the circumstances of the case and their existing convictions made a further death sentence unnecessary.
“This court has a duty to sentence the accused persons to a harsh sentence but considering that each of them already has 70 years in prison over two previous convictions on similar offences, it would not be useful to mete out a death sentence but rather another longer period on remand, so as to ensure that they do not return to the public to continue disturbing other people,” the judge said.
The judge said the additional sentence would mean the convicts spend more than a century in prison.
After deducting the period they have already spent on remand, each convict will serve an additional 33 years and two days.
The latest sentence therefore brings the total prison term for each of the two men to 110 years.
The court’s decision effectively keeps the two convicts behind bars for the remainder of their lives, given the length of their combined sentences.
