The Supreme Court in Kampala has upheld the death sentence handed to Muzahamu Mutema Tegika, meaning he will suffer death for the murder of his two-year-old daughter committed nearly 19 years ago.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, a panel of five Supreme Court Justices comprising Mike Chibita, Elizabeth Musoke, Christopher Izama Madrama, Catherine Bamugemereire and Monica K. Mugenyi dismissed Mutema’s appeal and affirmed the sentence imposed by the High Court and later upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The case stems from an incident that occurred on April 8, 2007, at Ivukula Village in present-day Namutumba District. Court records show that at about 8:00 p.m., Mutema became involved in a violent altercation with his wife. The couple was separated by Mutema’s paternal uncle, prompting the woman to flee the home.
About an hour later, the uncle heard a child crying and returned to the homestead with his wife. They found Mutema assaulting his two-year-old daughter, Doreen Mutunda, who was unconscious when he handed her over.
Evidence before court showed that Mutema refused to provide money for the child’s treatment despite repeated pleas from relatives. The child later died while being rushed to hospital.
A postmortem report established that the child died from strangulation and suffocation, and revealed injuries consistent with a violent assault, including dislocation of the upper vertebrae in the neck.Mutema was arrested, charged with murder, convicted by the High Court, and sentenced to death.
The Court of Appeal later upheld both the conviction and sentence.Dissatisfied, he appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in law by affirming the death penalty despite his status as a youthful first offender. He further argued that the appellate court failed to properly re-evaluate evidence and consider mitigating factors.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions opposed the appeal, arguing that the brutality of the offence justified the maximum penalty.State prosecutors maintained that the victim was a helpless infant who suffered extreme violence at the hands of her own father.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court found no merit in the appeal.The justices noted that although the Court of Appeal largely focused on prosecution evidence, its failure to extensively analyse the accused’s unsworn defence did not occasion a miscarriage of justice.
The court further found that Mutema’s claim that the child died from convulsions was contradicted by medical evidence and was not credible.After independently re-evaluating the evidence, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction as safe and properly founded.
On sentence, the court noted that following the landmark Susan Kigula Constitutional Petition decision, the death penalty is no longer mandatory in murder cases and may only be imposed in the “rarest of the rare” circumstances.
The justices acknowledged that Mutema was a first offender and relatively young at the time of the offence but held that the aggravating factors far outweighed the mitigating circumstances. The court observed that the attack on the child followed a violent assault on her mother, who had fled after intervention by relatives.
Instead of desisting, Mutema redirected his violence to the defenceless child. The judges also found no evidence of remorse. They further noted that evidence suggested the attack may have been motivated by doubts over the child’s paternity but held that such suspicions can never justify violence against a child.
Describing the killing as cruel, unprovoked, horrific and cold-blooded, the court said the victim was a helpless infant who depended entirely on the appellant. “The circumstances of this appeal demonstrate that the appellant strangled and suffocated his two-year-old daughter and inflicted severe injuries that caused dislocation of the upper neck vertebrae.
The child lost consciousness as a result of the brutal assault and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. The postmortem confirmed strangulation and suffocation,” the court stated. The Supreme Court held that courts have a duty to deter violence against children, especially amid rising paternity disputes and DNA testing cases in Uganda.
The justices warned that individuals who resort to violence against children over paternity issues risk severe punishment under the law. The court ultimately found that the case fell within the category of the gravest and most exceptional murders, for which the death penalty remains applicable.
The appeal was dismissed, leaving Mutema’s death sentence intact. During the hearing, Mutema was represented by lawyer Emmanuel Muwonge, holding brief for lawyer Henry Kunya, while the State was represented by Charles Richard Kamuli, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions.
The ruling comes shortly after Christopher Okello Onyum was sentenced to death for the murder of four toddlers at a Ggaba Early Childhood Development Centre, a case that is also expected to proceed through the appellate process. However, the death penalty can only be implemented with the approval of the president-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
