KAMPALA, UGANDA: The High court has convicted and sentenced three bodyguards of pastor Jackson Ssenyonga, the owner of Christian Life Church for aggravated robbery.
One of the guards Ali Ojulango has been convicted in absentia and will be handed his sentence upon arrest whereas Godfrey Mwanda also known as Kefa and Israel Waswa will serve five and two years respectively in Luzira prison.
The fourth convict, a chapati maker Ivan Wanyama, has been handed the highest sentence of ten years in jail since he was the most violent person in the crime when they robbed a churchgoer Sam Mukula of his mobile phone valued at Shs 35,500 and Shs 500,000 cash.
The jail terms have been handed to them based on their different levels of participation in the crime. The court heard that this incident took place on June 8, 2018, at Christian Life Church in Makerere Kavule when the convicts, who were armed with blunt objects, robbed Mukula of the said property before causing him permanent injuries on his stomach and arm, which was deemed grievous harm.
Mukula was one of the church members who always congregated at Christian Life Church and at the time of the robbery, he’d gone for evening prayers. Prosecution led by Jonathan Muwaganya presented evidence from four witnesses, who, justice Isaac Muwata found to have ably placed the convicts at the scene of crime although they had earlier denied having been there.
The judge found that the convicts had given a defense full of inconsistencies since one of them said they were not at the scene but another confessed to have been at the church with his co-convicts by the time the crime took place.
According to the judge, although the convicts indicated that it was dark and the witnesses couldn’t have seen them, the crime occurred at a church and there was sufficient light for the witnesses to identify them while they committed the crime.
After convicting them, state attorney Jonathan Muwaganya asked for a death penalty, arguing that it should deter other people from committing such crimes.
“In addition, we ask court to consider the fact that the victim was a churchgoer, a Christian who expected comfort and just treatment at the place of worship,” said Muwaganya. “My Lord, the church is like a hospital. It is a treatment place for the broken-hearted, all the people there have the duty to tolerate, love and treat people fairly regardless of their circumstances.”
Quoting Biblical teachings on punishment, Muwaganya alluded to Ecclesiastes Chapter 8:11 saying that when crime is not punished, people feel it’s safe to do wrong.
He thus asked for a deterrent sentence, saying that the convicts who were servants at the church, exhibited violent extremism which reflects badly on them and they should thus be punished for their crimes. Muwaganya also prayed for a warrant of arrest against Ojulango which the court has issued.
But on their part, the convicts argued that they are first time offenders, sole breadwinners in their homes and are also in their youthful ages and therefore able to reform once released to go back to the community.
They further asked the court to consider the time they spent on remand before they were given bail. The convicts have also pleaded that they were remorseful throughout the entire trial and wanted justice to be effected in this case while some argued that they have pregnant wives who need their care.
The judge said he considered all these factors before handing them down their respective sentences.
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