Staff Reporter
The High Court in Kabale has sentenced two individuals to Ndorwa Government Prison for the murder of a 70-year-old woman in Kisoro District.
Fausta Mukankusi, 41, and Innocent Niyonzima, 26, both from Kisoro Municipality, were found guilty of murdering Florence Bashimiki, a resident of Nyaruyaga Village in Kisoro District. The crime arose from a family land dispute, with Mukankusi, the victim’s daughter, orchestrating the murder.
Justice Samuel Emokor, who presided over the case, determined that the defendants violated Sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code.
The prosecution was led by Isaac Onyango, the Kabale State Attorney, while Felix Bakanyebonera represented the defense from M/S Bakanyebonera & Co. Advocates. The defense requested a lighter sentence for Mukankusi, citing her responsibility for six children.
However, Justice Emokor emphasized that Mukankusi had meticulously planned her mother’s murder and enlisted Niyonzima to carry out the crime. He noted that without the efforts of skilled investigators and prosecutors, Mukankusi might have escaped justice due to her careful planning.
Justice Emokor condemned Mukankusi for not considering her actions’ consequences and Niyonzima for participating in a crime that did not directly concern him.
Both convicts were sentenced to 30 years in prison, with the time they had already spent in remand during the trial deducted from their sentences.
In Kisoro, our reporter visited the victim’s village, where resident Alex Hakiza recounted discovering the elderly woman in a pool of blood days after the murder.
Additionally, a third defendant in the case, Brian Hakizimana, 22, had pleaded guilty earlier in the trial and received a 30-year prison sentence as well.
