crime 3 August 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Nine Convicted in Gruesome Susan Magara Murder Case
The High Court in Kampala has found nine individuals guilty of the 2018 kidnapping and murder of businesswoman Susan Magara, concluding a high-profile case that involved a substantial ransom demand and horrific acts of intimidation. The court heard that the convicts severed two of Magara's fingers to coerce her family into paying $200,000. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/high-court-convicts-9-over-susan-magara-s-gruesome-2018-murder-5545954
Justice Alex Ajiji of the High Court in Kampala has delivered a landmark verdict, convicting nine individuals in connection with the brutal 2018 kidnap and murder of businesswoman Susan Magara. The ruling brings to a close one of Uganda’s most disturbing ransom-killing cases, which has been under investigation and trial for eight years.
The nine convicted are Yusuf Lubega, Mahad Kisalita, Ismail Bukenya, Abubaker Kyewokya, Hassan Wasswa, Abbas Musa Buwembo, Hussein Kato Miiro, Hajjara Nakandi, and Muzamir Ssali. Justice Ajiji stated that the prosecution had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt against each of them.
Susan Magara was abducted on the night of February 7, 2018, outside her home in Lungujja, Kampala. A chilling phone call to a friend captured her screams of “Temunkuba” (Don’t beat me) before the line went dead. Her vehicle was found abandoned with the engine still running, and her mobile phones were left inside, indicating a forceful abduction.
Her kidnappers demanded a ransom of $1 million, later negotiated down to $200,000. In a horrifying display of intent, they sent two of Magara’s severed fingers to her family, along with a video of her pleading for the ransom payment. Forensic evidence confirmed she was alive when her fingers were amputated, a tactic Justice Ajiji described as demonstrating “the kidnappers’ determination to procure a ransom through intimidation.”
Despite the family eventually paying the ransom on February 23, Magara’s body was discovered four days later near the Entebbe Expressway. The postmortem revealed she died from manual strangulation.
The prosecution presented overwhelming forensic and circumstantial evidence, including DNA analysis, phone records, and crime scene findings. Some of the convicted individuals led investigators to key locations related to the crime. Furthermore, several of the accused acquired significant assets shortly after the ransom was paid, with their explanations for the source of funds deemed vague and unsubstantiated by the court.
While justice has been served for the nine convicted, the court noted that two suspected masterminds, Yakub Byensi and Hakim Lugolobi, remain at large. The case had garnered significant national attention, prompting high-level security interventions following Magara’s abduction in 2018.
Sentencing for the nine convicted individuals is scheduled for Tuesday. Under Ugandan law, murder carries a maximum penalty of death by hanging.