UGANDA, Mukono | Real Muloodi News | A mother and son in Mukono have been sentenced to three years in prison for attempted murder in connection with a land dispute.
Suz Isaale, 68 years old, and her son Patrick Ssembatya, 37 years old, were found guilty of attacking David Onugulu, a neighbour with whom they had a land wrangle, and injuring him severely.
The Attack and Arrest
On September 27, 2019, the mother and son attacked Onugulu as he was weeding his crops in the garden. They were attempting to block him from using the land which he had previously bought from Isaale’s husband, Samuel Kiyingi.
Ssembatya managed to remove Onugulu’s hoe from him and hacked him with it.
Meanwhile, Isaale cut Onugulu’s head twice with a panga as Ssembatya hit his knee with an axe. They fled the scene, leaving Onugulu bleeding profusely.
A passerby, Francis Kato, and a state witness found Onugulu lying in the garden and helped him. They took him to the roadside, called the village chairperson, and rushed him to the hospital. Onugulu survived the attack.
Conviction and Sentencing
The convicts, Isaale and Ssembatya, were charged with attempted murder and appeared before the Chief Magistrate in Mukono, Racheal Nakyanzi.
The court sentenced them to four years in prison but deducted the 10 months they had already spent in remand before being granted bail.
The convicts were also ordered to pay a fine of USh 1,000,000 each in costs incurred by the victim on treatment, three months after their release.
If they are not satisfied with their sentence, they were asked to appeal.
In her ruling, the Chief Magistrate acknowledged the victim’s injuries, saying that they could have led to his death.
She stated that the court needed to send a message to the community that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable and that the law will not tolerate such behaviour.
She noted that she would have given the convicts a four-year sentence, but since they had already spent 10 months on remand, their sentence was reduced to three years in prison.
“I have heard all your submissions however, court would like to acknowledge that the victim was injured according to the pictures, and this could have led to his death, court is inclined to send a message to the community that this kind of behavior is not allowed.” she said while delivering her ruling.
“I would have given them four years in prison but I have deducted the 10 months spent on remand before being released on bail, coming to three years imprisonment,” she ruled. “Because of the expenses incurred by the victim on treatment, they will also pay him 1,000,000 Shillings each within three months of release from prison,” she added.
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