KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s High Court has sentenced two people to death and seven others to life imprisonment over the 2018 kidnap and murder of businesswoman Susan Magara, bringing to a close one of the country’s most notorious ransom killing cases.
Justice Alex Mackay Ajiiji on Tuesday sentenced Hajara Nakandi and Musa Abaas Buvumbo to death after finding them among those responsible for Magara’s abduction, torture and killing.
The remaining seven convicts were handed life sentences for their roles in the crime, which shocked Uganda and exposed the growing threat of organised kidnap-for-ransom syndicates.
The court also ordered that land and motor vehicles allegedly purchased using the ransom money be confiscated, sold and the proceeds transferred to Magara’s family.
“This is to ensure that the convicts do not in any way enjoy the proceeds of their callous crime,” Justice Ajiiji ruled.
During sentencing, prosecutors described the crime as a meticulously planned criminal enterprise driven by financial gain.
State Attorney Joseph Kyomuhendo told court that the group abducted Magara on February 7, 2018, in Mengo, Kampala, before holding her captive for 20 days while demanding a ransom from her family.
Despite receiving US$200,000—approximately Shs700 million at the time—the kidnappers allegedly killed her.
The prosecution told court that during her captivity, Magara’s captors cut off two of her fingers and sent them to her family together with a flash drive containing footage of the mutilation in an effort to pressure them into paying the ransom.
According to evidence presented in court, she was later injected with ketamine, suffocated using a plastic bag and her body dumped in Kigo, Wakiso District, on February 27, 2018.
Prosecutors identified Yusuf Lubega as the principal organiser of the operation, alleging that he coordinated the kidnapping together with Lugoloobi after carrying out surveillance on the victim before the abduction.
The prosecution argued that the accused had multiple opportunities to abandon the crime but instead continued with the operation even after receiving the ransom payment.
Members of Magara’s family urged the court to impose the maximum punishment, describing the murder as an act of extraordinary cruelty that continues to cause lasting pain.
“My Lord, the late Susan Magara was my niece. She was brutally murdered. As a family we still grieve,” her aunt, Flora Magara, told court.
“I pray this honourable court passes the sentence of death penalty.”
Defence lawyer Richard Kumbuga appealed for a lighter sentence, arguing that the convicts were first-time offenders whose individual roles should be considered separately during sentencing.
The defence acknowledged the suffering Magara endured and expressed sympathy to her family.
“It is important to note that whatever happened to the late, she never deserved it. It was bad, it involved pain and a high degree of torture,” the defence submitted.
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Lawyers also argued that many of the convicted individuals were family breadwinners and that lengthy prison terms would adversely affect their children and dependants.
The nine were convicted after the High Court found that prosecutors had proved beyond reasonable doubt that they kidnapped Magara with the intention of obtaining a ransom and subsequently murdered her.
The confiscation order means assets allegedly acquired using proceeds from the ransom will now be disposed of, with the proceeds returned to Magara’s family.
Susan Magara’s murder remains one of Uganda’s most high-profile kidnap-for-ransom cases, prompting increased public concern over organised criminal gangs and renewed calls for tougher measures against violent crime.
