Uwera lowers her head after court sentenced her to 20 years in jail last week.
The President, Prime Minister, Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Director Public Prosecutions (DPP), Inspector General of Police, Uganda Human Rights Commission, the courts…..one case, one woman, different opinions and strong blood ties. Ms Jacqueline Uwera Nsenga’s conviction and subsequent 20-year sentence last week for the murder of her husband in January 2013 could easily go down the annals of Uganda’s judicial history for the subtle twists and turns the case has taken.
Away from the intricate web of the case and the judge’s ruling on Monday that Uwera “drove the car with reckless abandon and disregard to human life and intended to kill her husband”, the behind the scenes of the case makes rich material for novelist John Grisham crime fiction narrative. Here, the blood is thicker than water maxim came to life.
On one part, Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura’s familial ties with the woman on the spot is public knowledge. His wife Angella Kayihura is a close relative of Ms Uwera and personally stood with her from the time of the ‘accident’ to the city businessman’s burial.
On the other limb, former Director of Public Prosecutions Richard Buteera, now a Court of Appeal justice, is reportedly a family friend of Donati Kananura (father of the deceased) family and personally commiserated with the family throughout the tragic incident. FULL STORY