KAMPALA — The High Court in Kampala has convicted all nine suspects accused of kidnapping and murdering businesswoman Susan Magara in a case that shocked Uganda in 2018.
The court decision follows an earlier recommendation by assessors, who advised the trial judge to find the accused guilty of murder and kidnapping with intent to procure a ransom.
Magara, a 28-year-old accountant at Bwendero Dairy Farm, was abducted on February 7, 2018, while travelling home in Kampala. Her body was later discovered on February 27, 2018, in the Kajjansi area of Wakiso District after her kidnappers demanded ransom from her family.
The accused persons — Musa Abbas Buvumbo, Yusuf Lubega, Hussein Wasswa, Muzamiru Ssali, Hajara Nakandi, Abubaker Kyewolwa, Hassan Kato Miiro, Mahad Kasalita and Ismail Bukenya — had denied the charges during trial.
Prosecution told court that the suspects were involved in Magara’s abduction and subsequent killing after securing a ransom payment. Police records indicated that the kidnappers demanded and received a ransom of about US$200,000 from the victim’s family.
During the trial, investigators presented evidence on the circumstances surrounding Magara’s death, including testimony that she was allegedly injected with a fatal dose of the anaesthetic drug ketamine before she was killed.
The case attracted national attention and renewed public debate about rising incidents of kidnappings for ransom at the time.
The nine suspects were arrested and charged in 2018, with authorities later committing them to the High Court for trial on charges of murder and kidnap with intent to procure a ransom.
The court is expected to proceed to the sentencing stage after the conviction. The sentences will determine the penalties to be imposed on each of the convicted individuals.
Magara’s murder became one of Uganda’s most high-profile criminal cases, prompting security agencies to intensify investigations into organised kidnapping networks operating in Kampala and surrounding areas.
