Policeman jailed 50 years for strangling to death colleague’s 9-year-old daughter

Court has sentenced a 48-year-old policeman to 50 years in prison after he was convicted of murder by strangulation.

Inspector of Police (IP) Emmanuel Wilson Abura was convicted of strangling to death a nine-year-old daughter of his fellow policeman in a shared house at Naalya Housing estate, Kampala.

“IP Abura killed an innocent child. His conduct is an embarrassment and disgusting with police that trained him to protect life. He chose to harm an innocent girl who died in a very painful death,” said Justice Mutonyi before describing the cop as “an animal dressed in human skin,” that needs to be kept away from society for public safety.

The judge explained that Abura who walked into the courtroom supported on crutches clutches uses his disability as a tool to attract empathy but he needs to work on his soul and to tame his inner man because he poses a danger to human beings around him.

The officer was convicted after court found that the prosecution evidence squarely linked him to the crime scene and that his conduct thereafter was suspicious.

“Prosecution evidence put the accused (IP Abura) at the scene of crime much as he attempted to lie to court that he was away at a bar shortly after lunch. His alibi was destroyed by his own police statement that was recorded shortly after the incident. His conduct was not that of an innocent person,” Justice Mutonyi held.

The judge ruled that in view of the fact that there was no stranger in the premises and that the accused was seen leaving home by the parents of the deceased girl only to find their daughter strangled and hanged on a nail with the legs touching the ground, there was no other assailant other than Abura.

This was after prosecution told court that the officer “meticulously killed” the child and threw the keys into the room through the broken louvres.

“In the result, I reject his defence that he was not at the scene of the crime at that material time and find him guilty of the offence of murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act as charged and convict him accordingly as provided under Section 83 of the Trial on Indictment Act,” the judge said.

Court heard that the two police officers; IP Abura and the father of the deceased girl, Cpl Joel Mwondha stayed in the same house.

The house had two access points; that is the kitchen door and the sitting room door, with each of these accesses allotted to the respective families.

The name of the deceased has been withheld because she was a minor.

Justice Mutonyi, however, ruled out the narrative that the victim could have committed suicide and observed that it is common knowledge that for a person to die as a result of hanging, the body must be suspended, which was not the case in this particular death.

“The deceased in this case was not suspended but her toes were touching the ground. This court strongly believes from analysis of the circumstantial evidence that a child of nine years would not conceive the idea of getting a lanyard which is rarely used for committing suicide, unlike a rope and hanging herself from a small nail on the door frame,” Justice Mutonyi observed.

She said she was convinced that there was someone who tied the lanyard around the girl’s neck tightly and purported to hang her on the nail leading to her death.

“I am therefore, convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the deceased, a small child of nine years who was left home doing her homework had no reason to commit suicide by hanging herself, using the lanyard of all things, which lanyard was not even within her reach according to the findings of the scene of crime officers (SOCO),” she said.

The judge said the cop was at liberty to appeal against her decision in 14 days after the date of judgment if he was not satisfied.