Tonku (C) being escorted by prison warders after he was sentenced to death by the High Court yesterday for killing his ex-girlfriend Brenda Karamuzi, early last year. PHOTO BY ISAAC KASAMANI.

Kampala
The High Court sitting in Kampala yesterday, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging businessman, Thomas Nkulungira a.k.a Tonku for murdering ex-girlfriend Brenda Karamuzi, before dumping her body into a septic tank last year.
The trial Judge, Albert Rugadia Atwooki, however, acquitted his co-accused Fred Ssempijja, his former shamba boy of murder but found him guilty of being an accessory to murder. He accordingly sentenced him to five years in jail.
While passing the death sentence, Judge Atwooki, said he was giving the maximum sentence to deter other people from unlawfully taking away other people’s lives. “Court condemns such kind of brutality. Life must be respected by all and should never be taken by anyone apart from God, the creator,” ruled the judge adding, “that kind of brutality Brenda went through cannot be taken lightly. You are sentenced to death, may God have mercy on your soul”.

During mitigation, Nkulungira told court that he maintains his innocence. “I maintain my innocence in this matter my Lord,” said Nkulungira responding to the Judge’s question on whether he had anything he wanted to tell court before he could pass his sentence.
Through his lawyer John Patrick Barenzi, Nkulungira who looked calm but pensive, maintained that he was dissatisfied with the judgment and that he was going to appeal against it.
The law provides 14 days for appealing. Still during the mitigation, principal State Attorney Joan Kagezi asked court to hand Nkulungira the maximum penalty of death by hanging arguing that the deceased was only 27 years, afresh graduate in search of a job and the convict took advantage of her vulnerable state to kill her.
Ms Kagezi, said that the issue of searching for jobs has become a problem as criminals have taken advantage of young ladies to traffic them into domestic slavery, sexually abusing them and that the court should send out a strong warning to such characters.
Prosecution had alleged that Mr Nkulungira together with Ssempijja murdered Brenda Karamuzi, between January 21-30 last year at his home found in Bukasa, Muyega, a Kampala suburb before dumping her body into a septic tank. It also adduced evidence that placed the accused squarely at the scene of crime.
The judge while sentencing Ssempijja to five years in jail noted that he was a young foolish man who was blinded by the love of money in exchange of assisting his then master Nkulungira to carry Karamazi’s body to the septic tank. There were tears of joy and dancing soon after the judgment by Karamuzi’s family members.
The mother of the deceased, Ms Joy Karamuzi who had been following the court proceedings closely said she was satisfied with the judgment though her daughter will not come back.
The deceased’s uncle, Dr Warren Namara, said justice has been served, though as per their culture, they don’t rejoice in the death of another person before condemning his soul in hell. Nkulungira’s friends and family members were in shock. Following the ruling, they walked out quietly.
Tonku’s journey to freedom cut short
January 18, 2010 was the day she was murdered. She had arrived earlier that day at Thomas Nkulungira, her boyfriend’s residence in Bukasa, Muyenga, a Kampala suburb, carrying a bag containing her belongings and hoping, according to the defence, to stay for one week as she cooled off from recent hard times.
Brenda Karamuzi’s mutilated body was recovered almost two weeks later from a septic tank within the compound.
Two people were arrested, Nkulungira and his gardener Ssempijja.