Justice Elizabeth Nahamya has sentenced a 39 year old man from Agiforo village, Okusigoni Sub County in Adjumani district to 50 years in jail for violently killing his wife Margaret Ajio in 2011.
Edward Amoko was on Wednesday last week found guilty of murder by High Court in Arua. Amoko is so far the first person in West Nile to get 50 years jail term for murder and he is currently imprisoned at Openzinzi government prison.
According to prosecution of the cash on January 25, 2011, Amoko who was involved in a domestic brawl with his wife, used a machete and hacked his wife to death.
He now joins Ronald Magero who was in April this year handed 310 years in jail for attempted murder, murder and aggravated robbery by the General Army Court Martial in Makindye, Kampala. Twenty four year old Magero, a resident of Namwezi zone, Buikwe District, confessed to killing Charles Eturuket after firing two shots at him on January 5, 2011. On the same night, Magero robbed Eturuket's wife, Palma Akello, of 300,000 shillings, two TV sets, a DVD player and two mobile phones at gun point.
In 2010, the now suspended Soroti Resident Judge, Margaret Oguli Oumo sentenced Lt. Francis Bwalatum in Soroti and former Kotido LC 5 chairperson Paul Lamanio to 100 years and 42 years in jail respectively in record rulings in the Country.
When Amoko was arraigned in court he said he did the act because of emotion, asking court to reduce the charge to manslaughter but his plea was rejected until his trial started a week ago.
Prosecution led by Patrick Omia told court that the postmortem results from Adjumani hospital indicated that the woman died of hemorrhagic shock occasioned by over bleeding after she was hacked several times. He informed court that the murder was cruel and inhuman because it happened in the presence of two children belonging to the deceased.
Because of the gravity of the crime committed, he asked court to give Amoko a deterrent sentence that will stop others who would want to indulge in such practices. But when Justice Nahamya asked Amoko to explain how he wants court to deal with him, he said the charge against him is not what he committed.
He asked court to be lenient with him since he has two children with his former wife he is supposed to take care of and if he is given a sentence that will not make him to help the family his family will be dissolved.
But in her ruling Nahamya said the crime committed by Amoko was grave and didn’t need leniency on the part of the court since it was against womanhood. She therefore sentenced him to 50 years in jail.
Amoko is the third person who has been handed a deterrent sentence since the high court session opened in Adjumani two weeks ago. Others are Faustino Aguku and Juliano Afedrao who have all been sentenced to life imprisonment for committing murder.
