The Kabale High Court has sentenced one Denis Arinaitwe, aged 22, a resident of Nyakahanga village, Kazindiro parish, Rukungiri district, to 70 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of his two girlfriends.
According to the evidence presented before the court, Arinaitwe first strangled Sarah Naturinda, a student at Kabale University, to death in her room in Rwamukundi village, Kabale Municipality, before proceeding to shoot Police Constable Caroline Komuhangi, who was attached to the Field Force Unit (FFU) at Kabale Central Police Station. Both incidents occurred on March 19, 2023.
After the incident, Arinaitwe attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself, but he missed the target and injured himself in the face. He was arrested and taken to Kabale Regional Referral Hospital for treatment until July 20, 2023, when he was brought before the court, charged, and remanded to Ndorwa Government Prison.
When Arinaitwe was brought before the court presided over by Justice Samuel Emokor on Monday, he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder.
In his judgment, Justice Emokor considered Arinaitwe’s guilty plea, which saved the court time and taxpayer money. He sentenced Arinaitwe to 35 years for each murder charge, to be served concurrently. Emokor deducted the time Arinaitwe spent on remand, reducing the sentence to 68 years and two months.