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Mbarara man who killed mother-in-law gets 20 years

The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a businessman based in Mbarara city over the murder of his mother-in-law.

Justice-Catherine-Bamugemereire

Court documents reveal that Mr. Godfrey Mwebaze, 41, killed his mother-in-law, Rose Tibanagwa, after his wife allegedly stole sh4m.

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On June 11, 2011, Mr. Mwebaze was convicted for the murder by High Court Judge Akiiki Kiza (retired) and was sentenced to 25 years in jail.

Prosecution said on June 12, 2008, at Nyamityobora in Mbarara City, Mr. Mwebaze murdered Tibanagwa.

Mr. Mwebaze, however, was not happy with the sentence, saying it was too extreme since he killed her out of anger in a crime of passion.

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Although acknowledging the murder of his mother-in-law, Mr. Mwebaze wanted the appellate court to quash his conviction on murder, saying the trial judge erred in law and fact to convict him without according him the defence of provocation.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on December 17, Justices Fredrick Egonda-Ntende, Catherine Bamugemereire and Christopher Madrama upheld his conviction on murder charge, saying the trial judge was spot on in regard to the provisions of the law.

The judges, however, faulted the lower court judge over failure to take into account the period which Mr. Mwebaze had spent on remand.

“We substitute the sentence of 25 years with that of 20 years minus the period on remand,” Justice Egonda-Ntende ruled.

Despite murder being a capital offence, thus leading to the death penalty upon conviction, the justices found a 20-year jail term sufficient for Mr. Mwebaze to reform.

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In his defence, Mr. Mwebaze argued that he did not intend to kill his mother-in-law but had been infuriated and incited by his wife after he suspected her of stealing his sh4m.

According to the law, this crime falls under the definition of a crime of passion which is arises as “a defendant's excuse for committing a crime due to sudden anger or heartbreak, in order to eliminate the element of "premeditation." This usually arises in murder or attempted murder cases, when a spouse or sweetheart finds his/her "beloved" having sexual intercourse with another and shoots or stabs one or both of the coupled pair.

To make this claim the defendant must have acted immediately upon the rise of passion, without the time for contemplation or allowing for "a cooling of the blood."

It is sometimes called the "Law of Texas" since juries in that state of the USA are supposedly lenient to cuckolded lovers who wreck their own vengeance. The benefit of eliminating premeditation is to lessen the provable homicide to manslaughter with no death penalty and limited prison terms. An emotionally charged jury may even acquit the impassioned defendant.”

Source: The New Vision

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