A witchdoctor in Masaka district has been sentenced to death for murder.
Masaka High Court Judge Moses Mukiibi on Thursday found 28-year-old Samuel Kalyamaggwa, a resident of Bugere village in Kyesiiga Sub County, guilty of killing Moses Ssentongo, a boda boda cyclist.
Court heard that on January 3, 2004 at Bugere village, Kalyamaggwa hired Ssentongo but later killed him and took away his motorcycle number UDC 384S. His body was later recovered by police in a trench with the head, both feet and hands missing.
The Masaka Senior State Attorney Moses Onikani told court that the evidence brought before court pins the witchdoctor on the two accounts. Onikani asked court to give a heavy punishment to Kalyamaggwa so that other people can learn from him. He said that such cases of murdering boda boda cyclists are on the rise.
Onikani said that many lazy people take advantage to robe those who have decided to start up development work.
Onikani noted that Kalyamaggwa was a young man who could work for his two children but he neglected that and instead wanted to get free things which he had not worked for.
There was drama in court when Kalyamaggwa, instead of pleading to the judge, started calling his gods to assist him and make the court doors closed so that all the people inside court could die.
This forced Justice Mukiibi to order the police officers and the prison warders to handicap the convict before sentencing him to death. Justice Mukiibi said that the failure by Kalyamaggwa to account for the missing head, both feet and hands means he used them for ritual purposes.
He added that cases of motorcycle robbery are on the rise and therefore he sentenced Kalyamaggwa to send a warning to other offenders.
Immediately after the ruling, Kalyamaggwa continued crying out to his gods to attack the judge and all the security officers in court and set him free. Prison warders however took him to Luzira prison.
