By Obed Kankiriho
The Kabale High Court sitting in Kisoro district has handed down a significant sentence, with 58-year-old Niyonzima Gad being sentenced to 35 years imprisonment.
Niyonzima, a resident of Gatwe cell in Bunagana town council, Kisoro district, was found guilty of murder on 27th June this year, by the presiding judge, Hon. Justice Samuel Emokor.
The gruesome incident occurred on the night of 2nd January 2020 when Niyonzima brutally murdered his wife, Nyiransekuye Pophia, by decapitating her with a garden hoe.
Shockingly, their children witnessed this horrifying act.
Justice Emokor emphasized that the offender had become an assailant within his own family. The judge noted that the children involved would forever bear the scars of this incident.
Niyonzima displayed no signs of remorse or any potential for change throughout the proceedings, from the initial hearings to his conviction and now the sentencing.
According to the sentence, Niyonzima will serve 31 years, 6 months, and 11 days, taking into account the 3 years, 5 months, and 20 days he has already spent in custody during the trial.
Judge Emokor informed Niyonzima of his right to appeal within 14 days if he believes the judgment to be unfair or if he considers the sentence of 35 years to be excessively harsh.
Expressing her reaction to the sentence, Niyonzima’s elder daughter, Nyirabemera Sylvia, expressed gratitude to the court for the decision to incarcerate her father for 35 years.
She even suggested that a longer sentence would be more appropriate, as it would allow her father to reflect on his actions while preventing him from seeking revenge against the children who testified against him in court.
