Matthew Kanyamunyu has been released from Luzira Upper Prison after serving a reduced sentence of 3 years and five months for the 2018 shooting of Child Rights Activist Kenneth Akena at Forest Shopping Mall in Lugogo.
Kanyamunyu was sentenced to five years and one month in jail, but he has served three years and five months upon remission. His murder charge was reduced to manslaughter by the Director of Public Prosecution following a plea bargaining session held at the High Court criminal division in Kampala in 2020.
For starters, Kanyamunyu, who had initially faced murder charges alongside his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari, participated in a traditional ritual known as Mato Oput, an Acholi term that means “to drink a bitter portion made from the leaves of the ‘oput’ tree.” He confessed to the crime and agreed to pay reparation for the offense.
The elders, following the protocol of Mato Oput, made an assessment of 10 cows and three goats, which was paid by Kanyamunyu’s family.