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New details on man jailed 22 years without trial
Alex Twinomugisha (left) and his lawyer Geoffrey Turyamusiima at the High Court in Kampala on Monday. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Alex Twinomugisha has been on remand at Luzira prison for the last 22 years without being tried
- Twinomugisha’s name came into spotlight earlier this week when the High Court, Civil Division was scheduled to hear his application challenging his 22-year detention without trial.
New details have emerged about what could have transpired on June 11, 1999, when a former child soldier, Alex Twinomugisha, allegedly shot dead, three students of Makerere University.
Twinomugisha has been on remand at Luzira prison for the last 22 years without being tried. He is now challenging the delayed trial before the High Court in Kampala.
He is accused of shooting and killing on the spot, Maria Mirindi Birungi Katasi, then a third-year Social Science student, her cousin, Cpl Mirindi Amooti Kajabagu and Richard Tumwesigye, both law students in fourth and third year, respectively.
Speaking on condition of anonymity last evening, a brother of one the victims, narrated the events of the fateful day.
“My brother, Cpl Kajabagu alongside our cousin, Katasi and their friend, Tumwesigye, were returning from a law dinner and when they reached the eastern gate of the university, Twinomugisha allegedly opened fire at them,” the family member, recounted.
When asked why he thinks Twinomugisha could have been behind the shooting, the family member explained that his brother Kajabagu was a key witness in the murder of the Tooro Prince, Happy Kijanangoma and Stephen Kaganda, a guard, on March 25, 1999.
Twinomugisha was a key suspect in the murder of the Tooro royal.
The High Court in 2001 found Twinomugisha alongside two others including, then Tooro Kingdom prime minister, John Sanyu Katuramu and his nephew, Patrick Kwezi, guilty and sentenced them to death.
However, they got a lease of life when they benefited from the Susan Kigula Supreme Court land mark judgment that saw their death sentence commuted to 20 years imprisonment.
This was after court ruled that death sentence was no longer mandatory.
Their 20-year jail sentence lapsed on September 11, 2021 but Twinomugisha remained in detention due to the other pending murder case file of the Makerere University students.
“My brother Kajabagu was very well known to Twinomugisha and he knew he was going to be the key witness to testify against him in the alleged murder of the Tooro prince. That could have informed his reason to bumped him off and kill the evidence,” the family member claimed.
He added: “My brother was also among the last people that Twinomugisha interacted with on that fateful day of the murder of the Tooro Prince and they had even shared a drink. The two knew each other physically since they were all kadogos (child soldiers)in Mbarara.”
When asked about the delayed justice for his relatives, the family member acknowledged that since Twinomugisha was facing two separate murder files, the one involving the murder of the Tooro prince overshadowed theirs.
The DPP’s office had on Tuesday, promised to trace Twinomugisha’s file and establish its status and determine their next course of action.
Twinomugisha’s name came into spotlight earlier this week when the High Court, Civil Division was scheduled to hear his application challenging his 22-year detention without trial.
But presiding judge, Musa Ssekaana was indisposed, with his matter being pushed to February 9 next year.
