Summary:
- Fausta Mukankusi, 41, and Innocent Niyonzima, 26, both from Kisoro municipality, were convicted of murdering Florence Bashimiki, a resident of Nyaruyaga village in the Kisoro district.
KABALE: The High Court in Kabale has sentenced two individuals to Ndorwa Government Prison for the murder of a 70-year-old woman in the Kisoro district.
Fausta Mukankusi, 41, and Innocent Niyonzima, 26, both from Kisoro municipality, were convicted of murdering Florence Bashimiki, a resident of Nyaruyaga village in the Kisoro district.
The murder stemmed from a family land dispute, with Mukankusi, the daughter of the victim, orchestrating the crime.
Justice Samuel Emokor, presiding over the court, 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 the defense was represented by Felix Bakanyebonera 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 meticulously planned her mother’s murder, enlisting Niyonzima to execute the crime. He noted that without the efforts of skilled investigators and prosecutors, Mukankusi might have escaped justice, as she had carried out the crime almost perfectly.
Justice Emokor condemned Mukankusi for not considering the consequences of her actions.
Justice Emokor also condemned Niyonzima for participating in a murder that did not concern him personally.
Subsequently, Justice Emokor sentenced both convicts to 30 years in prison, deducting the time they had already spent in remand during the trial.
In Kisoro, our reporter visited the deceased’s village, where resident Alex Hakiza recounted discovering the elderly woman in a pool of blood days after the murder.
Additionally, a third convict in the case, Brian Hakizimana, 22, had pleaded guilty early in the trial and received a 30-year prison sentence as well.
