Dak Taiweko Hussein being delivered to court
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The man accused of murdering Uganda Christian University (UCU) Director of Student Affairs, Pamela Ruth Tumwebaze, now faces the harshest penalties under Ugandan law, including the possibility of the death sentence, as his case moves toward trial in the High Court.
Dak Taiweko Hussein, also known as Sam, was on Friday remanded to Luzira Prison after appearing before the Mukono Chief Magistrate’s Court, where he was formally charged with two capital offences: murder, contrary to Sections 172 and 177 of the Penal Code Act, and aggravated robbery, contrary to Sections 266 and 267(2).
These charges expose Taiweko to the gravest punishments available in the country’s criminal justice system.
Under Section 177 of the Penal Code Act, murder is punishable by death. Although courts in recent years have exercised discretion, sometimes substituting life imprisonment for the death penalty, the law still provides for capital punishment in cases involving intentional and unlawful killing.
Should the High Court find Taiweko guilty of murder, he could therefore face either the death sentence or life imprisonment, depending on the circumstances established during trial and any mitigating factors presented in his defence.
The aggravated robbery charge further heightens his potential punishment. Section 267(2) prescribes death as the maximum penalty where robbery is committed using deadly weapons or where serious violence is inflicted.
Prosecutors allege that Taiweko attacked Tumwebaze with deadly weapons, robbing her of a laptop bag, a Samsung Galaxy smartphone with a SIM card, a phone charger, a coffee-brown document holder, and cash in several currencies, including Shs 200,000, 900 Ghanaian shillings, and Kenyan and Botswana money.
The prosecution maintains that the extreme violence used during the robbery directly caused Tumwebaze’s death, thereby satisfying the legal threshold for the most severe sentence.
Because the offences are capital in nature, Taiweko was not required to enter a plea before the Chief Magistrate’s Court, which lacks jurisdiction to try such cases.
Chief Magistrate William Muwonge ordered that he be remanded to Luzira Prison until March 19, 2026, pending committal proceedings that will transfer the matter to the High Court for full trial.
Tumwebaze’s killing has shocked the nation, drawing widespread condemnation from academic, religious, and civil society groups, particularly at UCU’s Mukono campus, where she was a respected senior administrator in charge of student welfare and discipline.
She is survived by her two children, Noah and Elijah Matsiko, and was laid to rest on February 15, 2026, in Keigoshora, Rubaya, Kashari.
As the case advances, public attention is expected to focus on the evidence underpinning the capital charges and whether it will be sufficient to secure a conviction that could see Taiweko face the ultimate penalty under Ugandan law.
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