Death sentence upheld for father who killed child in ritual sacrifice

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The Appellate Court has upheld a death sentence for a man who killed his one-and-a-half-year-old baby in a ritual murder.

On April 30, 2025, the Court of Appeal Justices, led by former Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, upheld the aggravated trafficking in children (human sacrifice) conviction and sentence against Ali Mugerwa. Mugerwa was found guilty of killing his son, Akiram Mugerwa.

The panel also included Justices Eva Luswata and John Oscar Kihika.

“Given the circumstances of this case and previously decided cases which we have reviewed, we hereby uphold the sentence of death,” Buteera ruled.

The justices stated that the trial judge correctly evaluated the evidence, concluding that the removal of body parts from the deceased’s body was purely for human sacrifice.

“In this case, there was strong circumstantial evidence pointing to the fact that the appellant committed the offence. We, therefore, disagree with the appellant counsel’s submissions that the learned trial judge relied on unsatisfactory circumstantial evidence to convict the appellant,” Buteera noted.

Court records indicate that on December 9, 2011, Akiram's mother, her son (Akiram) and the appellant (Mugerwa), went to bed at 8:00 pm only to wake up at about 2:00 am to find that her baby, Akiram, and the appellant were missing.

She attempted to open the door, but it was locked from the outside. She raised an alarm, attracting neighbours who came to her aid by opening the door.

After informing them about her predicament, they embarked on a search for the baby and the appellant.

The following day, December 10, 2011, Akiram’s body was found abandoned in a nearby bush with his right ear cut off and half of his left ear missing. A manhunt for the appellant, who had disappeared from the village, was launched but proved futile.

A year later, on February 12, 2013, the appellant was spotted repairing a motorcycle at Katwe in Kampala. He was arrested and confessed to subjecting Akiram to human sacrifice under the instructions of a witch doctor. He also led the police to the witch doctor’s home.

The appellant was accordingly charged with aggravated trafficking under the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act. The High Court, in compelling circumstantial evidence of human sacrifice, convicted the appellant and sentenced him to death.

Dissatisfied with the judgement, the appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal, contesting both the conviction and sentence. However, the appellate court dismissed his appeal.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the successful subsequent verdict of conviction and sentence on appeal demonstrates the continued diligent prosecutorial work in securing justice for victims of human sacrifice.

The prosecution, even on appeal, highlighted the trauma suffered by the victims, their families and the community arising from such heinous crimes, in lieu of the fact that the deceased’s mother fainted for 30 minutes during the trial, the prosecutor and the assessors also broke down.

The appeal was prosecuted by Chief State Attorney Sherifah Nalwanga.

“Nalwanga's diligent efforts in defending both the conviction and sentence with emphasis on the facts falling within the ambit of the rarest of the rarest, underscore the commitment to bringing an end to impunity against all crimes of human sacrifice/child sacrifice,” the ODPP’s spokesperson, Jacquelyn Okui said.