Kanoheri and Nabbanja appeared in court today to answer to charges of murder
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Jolin Kanoheri, the mother of the late Rugari Nganwa has a case to answer. She was today aligned in court and charged under Sections 171 and 172 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 128, for murder with malice aforethought.
Described as a housewife and resident of Mutungo Zone 8, Nakawa Division, Kanoheri, 40, is being accused of intentionally killing the child between April 1 and 2, 2025.
Part of the official police charge sheet reads that between the 1st and 2nd day of April, the accused, with malice aforethought, unlawfully murdered Nganwa Rugari.
The charge sheet also implicates a second suspect, Robinah Nabbanja, a 24-year-old maid who lived and worked at the same address. Nabbanja is facing charges of being an accomplice after the fact to murder, under Section 189 of the Penal Code Act.
“Nabbanja assisted Kanoheri in attempting to evade justice after knowing that the child had been killed,” further reads the charge sheet.
Kanoheri, who has been in detention at Jinja Road Police Station since April 4, has maintained that her son died following a fall from a window in their home, calling the incident a tragic accident.
However, Chris Rugari, her estranged husband, has remained publicly suspicious, demanding a thorough investigation.
Why death sentence?
The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 provides for the death penalty in Article 22 (1). Other laws that provide for the death penalty are: The Penal Code Act Cap 120, Anti‐Terrorism Act, 2002 (as amended by the Anti‐Terrorism Amendment Act, 2015) and the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces Act, 2005. The three statutes provided for the mandatory death penalty until the Susan Kigula ruling.
While in most countries murder is the only crime that attracts capital punishment, in Uganda, 28 offenses attract the death penalty. These include murder, aggravated robbery, rape, aggravated defilement, treason, desertion from the army, and terrorism, among others.
