The High court in Kampala has sentenced two men to death for the murder of Ndiga clan leader Eng Kakeedo Bbosa Lugya, who was killed in a dispute over the leadership of the clan.Justice David Matovu on Thursday sentenced Lugya Bbosa alias Tabula and his relative, Noah Lugya alias Fake, to death after considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances presented by the prosecution and defence.The two convicts had pleaded guilty to murder and were convicted earlier in the day after admitting the prosecution’s facts linking them to the killing of Bbosa on February 25, 2024, in Kikandwa, Lungujja, a Kampala suburb.In passing sentence, Justice Matovu acknowledged that the two were first offenders, had pleaded guilty, appeared remorseful and had saved court time and resources by admitting the offence.However, the judge found that those mitigating circumstances were outweighed by the gravity of the offence, the planning involved and the motive behind the killing.Court heard that the murder was linked to a long-running dispute over the leadership of the Ndiga clan. Chief state attorney Joseph Kyomuhendo asked the court to impose the maximum sentence, describing the case as one of the rare and most serious offences warranting the death penalty.Kyomuhendo told court that the prosecution evidence showed the killing had been carefully planned, with meetings allegedly held between November and December 2023 to discuss ways of eliminating Bbosa, including poisoning.The prosecution said the accused had several opportunities to abandon the plan but instead continued monitoring the deceased until the day he was killed.According to the prosecution, Bbosa had returned from Katosi on February 25, 2024, after presiding over a clan function. He was travelling with his wife, Gladys Kakeedo, and a househelp when he was attacked as he approached his home in Lungujja.The prosecution said Bbosa slowed his Toyota Prado after noticing two people on a motorcycle. One of them reportedly disembarked and shot him at close range.The bullets shattered his jaw and skull, causing his death. His wife, who was seated in the co-driver’s seat, survived the attack despite being exposed to stray bullets. The state said Tabula played a central role in planning the murder, while Noah was among those recruited to execute it.Court further heard that Tabula provided the firearm used in the killing, which he had kept in his garden, while the assailants disguised the registration number of the motorcycle used in the operation.An AK-47 rifle was later recovered during the pursuit of suspects, while ballistic examinations linked it to spent cartridges recovered from the crime scene.Investigators also relied on CCTV footage, call-data records and other forensic evidence to reconstruct the circumstances surrounding the murder.‘A crime that affected the clan’In his sentencing remarks, Justice Matovu said the killing had affected not only Bbosa’s immediate family but also the Ndiga clan, the Buganda Kingdom and the wider country.The judge observed that the perpetrators had been determined to eliminate the clan leader and leave the government and the public guessing about the identity of the killers and their motive.Justice Matovu also cautioned members of the public against taking the law into their own hands, urging them to desist from mob justice.He noted that one of the alleged suspects, Enock Sserunkuma alias Munaku, was killed by a mob, while Noah was rescued from the mob and taken to Mulago Hospital for treatment.The judge observed that had Noah been killed by the mob, the full circumstances surrounding Bbosa’s murder might never have come to light.Defence pleaThe defence had asked the court to spare the lives of the two convicts. Defence lawyer Richard Kumbuga described them as remorseful first offenders and asked the court to consider their guilty pleas, personal circumstances and the effect of a severe sentence on their families.Kumbuga told court that Noah was 21 at the time of the offence and worked as a shamba boy who was vulnerable to influence from older people.He said Tabula was a father whose children still needed his care and guidance. The lawyer asked the court to impose a custodial sentence of about 25 years instead of the death penalty, arguing that the two could still contribute to their families, the clan and the Buganda kingdom.In his plea to court, Tabula said he had been angered by the killing of his own father, who he said had also been shot before Bbosa assumed the Ndiga clan leadership.Tabula told the judge that he had petitioned several people, including President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, over his grievances, but said his concerns had not been resolved.He also said attempts to meet Buganda Kingdom officials, including Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, to resolve the leadership dispute had failed.Tabula broke down in court as he asked for forgiveness, saying he had been driven by unresolved issues surrounding the clan leadership. He apologised to the Kabaka and Bbosa’s family.The prosecution, however, maintained that the guilty pleas and remorse could not outweigh the brutality, planning and motive involved in the murder.Kyomuhendo also asked the court to consider victim impact statements from Bbosa’s widow, daughter and an LC chairperson, which he said demonstrated the continuing trauma caused by the killing.Bbosa’s widow, Gladys Kakeedo, told court that she had suffered nightmares, struggled to sleep and lost the family’s breadwinner following her husband’s death.“I also pray for death,” she told court while describing the psychological pain she has endured since the murder.The state argued that the death penalty was necessary to proportionately punish the offenders, deter organised criminal activity and restore public confidence in the justice system.Kyomuhendo also pointed to the prevalence of homicide and gun-related crime in Uganda, arguing that a strong sentence would send a deterrent message to people contemplating similar offences.Justice Matovu consequently sentenced both Tabula and Noah to death, directing that the sentence be carried out in accordance with the law.Three suspects still on trialTabula disappeared after the murder but was arrested five months later, on August 19, 2024, in Namulonge, Wakiso district. Investigators later discovered 17 human skulls at his shrine in Mpigi.Three other suspects; Harriet Nakiguli, Joseph Nakabake and Ezra Mayanja denied the murder charge and remain before the High court awaiting trial.The conviction and sentencing of Tabula and Noah brings the sentencing phase of their case to an end, while proceedings against the three remaining accused persons are yet to begin.The death sentences handed to Tabula Lugya and Noah Lugya bring the reported number of prisoners on death row to 98 — three women and 95 men.The post Two sentenced to death over Ndiga clan leader murder appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.