The High Court in Kampala has fixed January 21 as the date it will start hearing a case in which city businessman Matthew Kanyamunyu is accused of killing Kenneth Akena, a social worker.
Kanyamunyu is indicted alongside his girlfriend, Cynthia Munwangari and brother Joseph Kanyamunyu. The trio is currently on bail. Appearing before High Court Judge Steven Mubiru yesterday, they all denied the charges.
This prompted the judge to set January 21 to begin hearing the case. Kanyamunyu, the executive director of Quantum Express Logistics, is suspected to have shot Akena in the stomach for allegedly scratching his vehicle.
Akena was rushed to Norvik Hospital on Bombo Road, where he was pronounced dead a day after the incident. The accused are battling charges of murder contrary to sections 188 and 189 of the Penal Code Act (PCA).
According to the Act, any person convicted of murder faces a death penalty. According to the summary of evidence presented before court, the Director of Public Prosecutions says he has sufficient evidence to sustain the murder charge against the accused. Kanyamunyu’s brother Joseph is charged with being an accessory to the murder.
Prosecution alleges that the accused and others still at large on November 12, 2016, along the Kampala-Jinja highway at Nakawa division in Kampala, with malice aforethought, caused Akena’s death. However, Joseph claims he only helped to take Akena to hospital as a Good Samaritan.
Munwangari told court through her lawyers that she only understood French and requested for an interpreter throughout the trial. The accused are represented by MacDusman Kabega, Caleb Alaka and Evans Ochieng