Susan Magara murder: Two sentenced to death, 7 life imprisonment
“I find that A4 (Nakandi) and A9 (Buvumbo) committed the most crucial role in this case. Given the circumstances and considering the aggravating factors in this case, I shall surely give them the maximum sentence of death. I, therefore, sentence Nakandi and Buvumbo to death while the rest, you are hereby imprisoned for the rest of your natural lives,” Justice Ajiji ruled.
Arriving at the sentence today (August 5, 2026), High Court judge Alex Mackay Ajiji noted that they committed two of the most serious offences in the country in a barbaric manner.
KAMPALA - The High Court in Kampala has sentenced two of the nine people who were on Monday convicted of kidnapping and murdering Susan Magara to death, while the other seven have been jailed for life.
Those sentenced to death are: Abbas Musa Buvumbo and Hajara Nakandi. On the other hand, Yusuf Lubega, Mahad Kisalita, Ismail Bukenya, Muzamir Ssali, Abubaker Kyewolwa, Hassan Wasswa and Hussein Kato Miiro have been jailed for the rest of their natural lives.
Arriving at the sentence today (August 5, 2026), High Court judge Alex Mackay Ajiji noted that they committed two of the most serious offences in the country in a barbaric manner.
“I find that A4 (Nakandi) and A9 (Buvumbo) committed the most crucial role in this case. Given the circumstances and considering the aggravating factors in this case, I shall surely give them the maximum sentence of death. I, therefore, sentence Nakandi and Buvumbo to death while the rest, you are hereby imprisoned for the rest of your natural lives,” Justice Ajiji ruled.
The judge also ordered for confiscation, forfeiture and sale of the properties, which the group members are said to have bought using the ransom cash. It included eight vehicles, 35 acres of land in Buikwe and another acre of land in Luwero.
The judge ordered that the properties be attached and sold and the money given back to Magara's family.
The late Susan Magara
Susan Magara, the 28-year-old daughter of businessman John Magara, was kidnapped on February 7, 2018, along Kabaka Anjagala Road in Mengo, a Kampala suburb, as she drove back to her home about three kilometers away.
Her kidnappers then contacted her family and demanded one million US dollars (about sh3.7b) as ransom.
Court heard that her two fingers were chopped off by the ransom seekers, packed them in an envelope together with a flash disc showing the footage as they were being cut and sent the same to her family in a bid to compel her family to pay the ransom.
Despite the family having delivered $200,000 (about sh700 million) to the ransom seekers, Magara was brutally murdered by her captors.
Prosecution said the convicts and others still at large on February 7, 2018, kidnapped Magara with intent to procure a ransom for her liberation from the danger of being murdered.
According to the prosecution, Magara was a victim of a ransom scheme hatched by Yakub Byensi, a former Allied Democratic Force (ADF) combatant who hails from Bunyoro just like Susan, and that he was known to her family.
Armed with the information, the convicts, according to the prosecution, started trailing her until they kidnapped her.
Evidence adduced in court showed that the convicts first kept Magara in captivity at Nakandi’s home in Nateete and later transferred her to Bukenya’s home in Konge II in Makindye Division, Kampala.
This is where her two fingers were chopped off by Buvumbo, and the same were sent to her family to show them how determined the convicts were to kill her if the ransom money was not paid.
According to prosecution, the convicts and their accomplices resolved to kill her because releasing her would expose them.
Prosecution said the convicts used part of the ransom money to procure several motor vehicles and land in Buikwe and Luwero districts.