{UAH} Court faulted Kalungi, not for giving Nebanda an overdose of the narcotic drugs that are said to have killed her but for not taking her to hospital quickly enough.
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11:19 PM |
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After a yearlong trial, Makindye Chief Magistrate’s Court last Friday afternoon found Adam Kalungi guilty of manslaughter in relation to the death of his girlfriend, the then Butaleja Woman MP, Cerinah Nebanda.
Court faulted Kalungi, not for giving Nebanda an overdose of the narcotic drugs that are said to have killed her but for not taking her to hospital quickly enough. Shortly after his conviction, Kalungi told The Observer that if his conviction came with a prison sentence, he would go to prison with his head high.
“I am happy that the magistrate never came to the conclusion that I administered drugs to my late girlfriend…..Surely I have never done anything wrong; these were just trumped-up charges,” Kalungi said.
A subdued Kalungi said his love for Nebanda, whose family never showed up during the entire trial, was not in doubt. He said as a loving boyfriend, he couldn’t have knowingly given her drugs.
Kalungi said Nebanda’s death and his subsequent trial have been trying moments in his life because he has never committed any crime before the Nebanda incident.
“I loved my girlfriend; so, her sudden death left me in shock since it was the first time I was experiencing that but to make matters worse, the state instituted these charges against me …It has been very hard mentally to deal with those two incidents,” he said.
He said the trial had taken a toll on his family.
“My mother is down with high blood pressure and if I am sentenced, it may worsen. Even now the public looks at us [family] as drug dealers,” he said.
If the magistrate agrees with his lawyers and lets Kalungi off with a caution, he doesn’t envisage staying in Uganda.
“I will sit down with my family and decide but I don’t see myself staying in this country. I would need some time off,” he said before being whisked off to Luzira prison.
Conviction
Kalungi was one of six suspects charged with manslaughter. The others, set free on Friday afternoon, included Pakistani nationals Noor Abubakar, Khan Babu, Abdul Abid Rashid Butt, Fatuma Babu and Ali Omar Almuzahim.
The six were also charged with dispensing narcotic drugs, which prosecution says contravenes the National Drug Policy and Authority Act. The trial, which started last year, had its fair share of drama. During the trial Kalungi disowned an extrajudicial statement he made before then Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Sylvia Nabaggala. He told court that police officers forced him to confess to administering drugs to Nebanda leading to her death.
Consequently court rejected Kalungi’s extrajudicial statement on grounds of flawed procedure. In her judgment, Makindye Chief Magistrate Esta Nambayo said Nebanda died as a result of Kalungi’s negligent conduct.
Nambayo said that during his testimony, Kalungi had admitted that the late Nebanda was his girlfriend and had intentions of taking their relationship to the next level, therefore Kalungi had a duty to take care of her.
Kalungi’s lawyer Nsubuga Mubiru had argued that Kalungi and Nebanda were just friends and as such Kalungi had no duty of looking after her. Nambayo also ruled that Kalungi was guilty of breach of duty having delivered Nebanda at Mukwaya General hospital at 7pm yet her health had started worsening at 4am.
Nambayo explained that the fear of exposing his girlfriend [Nebanda] to embarrassment kept on holding Kalungi back until it was too late to save her life.
“In the process of his fear to subject his girlfriend to embarrassment, Kalungi breached that duty to save her life. This was gross negligence on the side of Adam Kalungi. I, therefore, find him guilty of manslaughter by omission,” she concluded.
However, Nambayo dismissed prosecution’s claims that Nebanda had died out of Kalungi’s actions.
Prosecution, led by Andrew Odit, asked Nambayo to condemn Kalungi to life imprisonment on grounds that he had not showed remorse. But Kalungi’s lawyer Mubiru asked court to set Kalungi free on grounds that Nambayo had found him guilty due to an error of judgment but not malice.
Kalungi is due to be sentenced on Friday, February 7.
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