Susan Magara murder: Two sentenced to death, seven jailed for life

Eight years after Susan Magara's kidnapping and murder, the High Court has delivered its verdict. 

New Vision CSI: Crime Stories retraces the kidnapping, murder and investigation that led to the criminal convictions. 

Transcript

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For three weeks in February 2018, Uganda watched and waited. A young businesswoman had disappeared. Her kidnappers demanded one million dollars in ransom. They cut off two of her fingers and sent them to her family together with a video to prove she was still alive.

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The body was discovered by residents of Chigo who later alerted police.

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Despite receiving hundreds of millions of shillings, they killed her anyway. Eight years later, justice finally caught up with the people the High Court found responsible. This is the story of Susan Magara, Ambrasia Othman, and this is the New Vision CSI Crime Stories. She was the daughter of businessman John Magara and worked at her father's company, Gwendero Dairy Farm. Born in Hoima in 1989, Susan attended St. Christina Kindergarten, St. Jude Primary School, Mariam High School and Tinder, St. Lawrence Citizen High School, graduated from Uganda Matters University with a degree in ethics and development studies, and later earned a master's degree in accounting in India. To her family, she was caring, peaceful, and selfless. No one imagined that just weeks after the family gathered for Christmas, they would be preparing for her burial. On February 7th, 2018, Susan was driving home along Kabaka and Jagala Road in Mengo, just a few kilometers from her home. She never arrived. Her vehicle was later found abandoned. Soon afterwards, the kidnappers contacted the family. Their demand was staggering. 1 million US dollars, about 3.6 billion shillings at the time. For the Magara family, the nightmare had begun. John Magara would later tell mourners that at first he believed the kidnappers simply wanted money. As negotiations continued, the family desperately tried to save Susan's life.

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And he said, We are.

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Sometimes they would disappear for days without calling. John Magara carried four mobile phones, hoping not to miss any communication. Then the ordeal became even more horrifying. About ten days before Susan's body was found, the kidnappers sent the family an envelope inside were two of Susan's fingers. They also enclosed a flash disc labeled a must-see video. John Magara handed it to police. He could not bring himself to watch it. The kidnappers wanted to show they were serious. Security agencies intensified efforts. President Chewerum Seveni personally became involved. John Magara later revealed that the president called him twice every day and invited him to State House. The family pleaded for permission to meet every demand the kidnappers made, hoping Susan would be released alive. Eventually, the family delivered about 200,000 US dollars, roughly 700 million shillings. Saturday passed, then Sunday, then Monday. Susan never came home. Then came the call no parent ever wants to receive. At exactly 908 on the morning of February 27, 2018, President Msevini telephoned John Magara. Susan's body had been found damped near Kitiko, close to the Intebe Expressway in Wakiso District. She had been killed. Her body was still fresh. Her family believed it had been damped there only hours earlier. Despite receiving the ransom, the kidnappers had murdered her. At her requim mass at Our Lady of Africa Parish in Buya, hundreds gathered to mourn. Family members struggled to understand why Susan had been killed after the ransom had been paid. Her sister Cindy Magara, speaking through her husband from Australia, demanded justice.

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And the bum my people from Palma is likely that it is harm.

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The Reverend Father John Mungereza described the killing as one of the worst forms of criminality. At the barrio in Hoima, Security Minister, Lieutenant General Henry Tumkunde defended the actions of security agencies. He said police, military intelligence, and other agencies had mounted joint operations to rescue Susan, but the kidnappers stayed one step ahead. But behind the scenes, investigators had already begun piecing together the evidence that would eventually unravel one of Uganda's most complex kidnap for ransom syndicates. Security agencies never abandoned the investigation. According to evidence later presented in court, investigators from the police and the then chieftainsee of military intelligence, now defense intelligence and security, combined intelligence gathering with forensic technology. One of the key witnesses was Frank Nyakairo, a forensic expert from Defense Intelligence and Security. He told court investigators relied on mobile phone tracking and coordinates, analysis of cold data records, intelligence-led joint security operations, tracking unusual spending after the ransom was paid, and information from telecom agents who had illegally registered SIM cards. Investigators mapped communication between suspects before and after Susan Magara's kidnapping. The call data records consistently placed them at critical locations linked to the crime. Security officers also noticed that some suspects suddenly acquired wealth. Court heard they bought several vehicles, 35 acres of land in Buyikwe district and another acre in Luero district. Purchases investigators tressed to shares of the ransom money. Investigators also raided the Usafi makeshift mosque in Mengo Kisenyi, where several suspects were arrested. Nyakairu told court that after analyzing telephone numbers used to demand the ransom, investigators tressed one sim card registered in the name of Yusuf Lubega's mother. She unknowingly led investigators to her son. When officers arrived at the mosque, Lubega was standing at the entrance. As security moved in, he ran inside. Caught hard, another man emerged carrying a panga and chopped off the hand of one of the security officers. Lubega was arrested. According to Nyakiru's testimony, he later confessed to participating in the kidnapping and murder and revealed the identities of other suspects. Prosecutors told court the kidnapping plot had been hatched during a meeting at the Usafi makeshift mosque. The group allegedly agreed to identify a wealthy victim whose family could raise a large ransom. Susan Magara became their target. According to the prosecution, former Allied Democratic Forces combatant Yakub BNC, who hailed from Bunyoro like Susan and was known to her family, supplied information about her. BNC, together with Hakim Lugolobi, remains on the run. Court heard the kidnappers first held Susan at Hajara Nakandi's home in Natete before moving her to Ismail Bukenya's home in Conge II, matching the division. It was there that Abbas Musa Buvumbo chopped off two of Susan's fingers. The fingers, together with video footage of the mutilation, were delivered to her family to force payment of the ransom. Even after receiving approximately 200,000 US dollars, the group resolved to kill her, fearing she would identify them if released. Court heard Bvumbo later injected Susan with ketamine, suffocated her with a polythene bag, and strangled her before her body was damped in Kigo, Wakiso District, where it was discovered on February 27th, 2018. Judge Alex Makei Ajiji entered the courtroom. Nine accused persons stood in the dock. They were Yusuf Lubega, Mahad Kisalita, Ismail Bukenya, Muzamir Sali, Abu Bekar Chewolwa, Hassan Waswa, Abbas Musa Buvumbo, Hussein Katomiro, and Hajara Nakande. The judge spent more than five hours reading his judgment. The accused followed closely, taking notes.

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And considering the aggravating factors in this case. And so I shall surely give them the maximum sentence of death.

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Justice Ajiji ruled that prosecutors had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the nine acting together with fugitives Yakub Biensi and Hakim Lugulobi kidnapped and murdered Susan Magara to obtain ransom money that would finance their activities. He said although much of the evidence was circumstantial, it was compelling. The court relied heavily on communication and cold data records, seen reconstruction videos in which Nakande, Lubega, and Bukenya led investigators through the crime and explained wealth accumulated after the ransom payment and evidence showing common intention among the accused. The judge rejected claims of alibi by some of the accused, including Abbas Buvumbo, Hussein Katomiro, and Hassan Waswa, saying they had failed to prove them. He also dismissed torture allegations after the defense withdrew the application because of insufficient evidence. Court assessors Sara Babiri, Brenda Magoba, and Rita Padera had also advised that all nine be convicted. Finding the prosecution had proved every ingredient of kidnapping for ransom and murder.

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To deter organized kidnapping for ransom, which has become a serious threat to public safety, to denounce conduct involving prolonged captivity, torture, and murder.

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The following day, Wednesday, August 5th, 2026, Justice Ajiji returned to sentence the convicted group.

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To protect society from offenders who demonstrated willingness to sacrifice human life for financial gain to reaffirm public confidence in the administration of justice.

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Suffocated her with a polythen bag, and strangled her to death. The judge sentenced both to death. The remaining seven, Yusuf Lubega, Mahad Kisalita, Ismail Bukenya, Buzamir Sali, Abubeka Chewolwa, her son Waswa, and Hussein Katomiro were sentenced to life imprisonment. Justice Ajiji explained that Lubega and Bukenya planned the operation and drove vehicles used in the kidnapping. Mahad Kisalita, formerly an imam at the Osafi Mosque, convened meetings and oversaw how ransom money was spent. Chewolu collected the ransom money from Deje Kenava before delivering it to the group's leaders. Nakandi, Waswa, Kato, Miru, and Sali guarded Susan and provided food during her captivity. The judge said the sentences were intended not only to punish those responsible, but also to deter organized kidnap for ransom, which had become a serious threat to public safety. The court also ordered the confiscation of property believed to have been purchased using ransom money. These included eight motor vehicles, 35 acres of land in Buyikwe district, and one acre in Luero District. Justice Ajiji directed that the properties be sold and the proceeds returned to Susan Magara's family. Chief State Attorneys Joseph Chomuhendo, Irene Nachibungwe, and Sheriffa Naluanga, who prosecuted the case, had asked court to impose the death penalty on all nine convicts. After sentencing, they thanked Justice Ajiji for what they described as professionalism and patience throughout the lengthy trial. The judge retires this month. The convicts were given 14 days to appeal. Under Ugandan law, every death sentence must be reviewed by the Supreme Court before it can be carried out. If the sentence is confirmed and remains unexecuted for three years, it is commuted to life imprisonment. According to the Uganda Prison Service, there are 93 inmates on death row, although Uganda has not carried out an execution since 1999. The judgment also closed another chapter. Businessman Patrick Kashaija, commonly known as Pato, had initially been indicted after investigators mistakenly believed his voice appeared in a ransom recording. The charges were later withdrawn. For the Magara family, the convictions and sentences marked the end of an eight-year search for justice. The pain of losing Susan remains, but the court found that those responsible had finally been held accountable. This episode was based on reporting by Farouk Kasule, Andrew Senyonga, Nelson Kiva, Roberta Tuhaire, Carol Kasuja, and John Masaba, originally published by New Vision between March 2018 and August 2026. You've been listening to the New Vision CSI Crime Stories.