The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Muzahamu Mutema Tegika for the murder of his two-year-old daughter, bringing to a close a legal battle that has lasted nearly two decades.
In a unanimous ruling delivered in Kampala on Friday, a panel of five Supreme Court justices dismissed Mutema’s appeal and affirmed the punishment earlier handed down by the High Court and later sustained by the Court of Appeal.
The panel comprised Justices Mike Chibita, Elizabeth Musoke, Christopher Izama Madrama, Catherine Bamugemereire and Monica Mugenyi.
The case arose from a tragic incident that happened on April 8, 2007, in Ivukula Village, now part of Namutumba District.
According to court findings, Mutema had a violent confrontation with his wife at their home during the evening hours. Relatives intervened and separated the couple, forcing the woman to flee for safety.
Shortly afterwards, family members reportedly heard the cries of a child coming from the homestead. When they returned, they found Mutema assaulting his daughter, Doreen Mutunda, who was already unconscious.
Court records indicate that relatives pleaded with Mutema to provide money for the child’s medical treatment, but he allegedly refused. The toddler later died while being transported to hospital.
Medical evidence presented before court showed that the child died from strangulation and suffocation. A postmortem examination also revealed severe injuries, including dislocation of the upper neck vertebrae, consistent with a violent attack.
Following investigations, Mutema was arrested, prosecuted for murder and eventually convicted by the High Court, which sentenced him to death. The Court of Appeal later upheld both the conviction and sentence.
However, Mutema challenged the decision before the Supreme Court, arguing that the appellate court failed to properly reconsider the evidence and overlooked factors that should have reduced his sentence. He maintained that he was a youthful first offender and deserved a lesser punishment.
State prosecutors opposed the appeal, insisting that the gravity and brutality of the offence justified the maximum penalty. They argued that the victim was a defenceless child subjected to extreme violence by her own father.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the appeal lacked merit.
The justices said the medical evidence clearly contradicted Mutema’s claim that the child died from convulsions. They also held that although the Court of Appeal did not extensively analyse the accused’s unsworn defence, the omission did not result in a miscarriage of justice.
After independently reviewing the evidence, the Supreme Court concluded that the conviction was safe and properly supported.
On sentencing, the court referred to the landmark Susan Kigula Constitutional Petition, which established that the death penalty in murder cases is discretionary rather than mandatory and should only be imposed in exceptional circumstances.
While acknowledging that Mutema was a first offender and relatively young at the time, the justices ruled that the aggravating circumstances outweighed any mitigating factors.
The court observed that after attacking his wife, who fled the home, Mutema redirected his violence towards the helpless child instead of stopping the assault.
The justices also noted the absence of remorse and pointed to evidence suggesting the attack may have been linked to suspicions about the child’s paternity. However, the court stressed that doubts over parentage can never justify violence against a child.
Describing the killing as cruel, horrific and cold-blooded, the judges said the victim was entirely dependent on her father for protection and care.
“The circumstances demonstrate that the appellant strangled and suffocated his two-year-old daughter and inflicted severe injuries that caused dislocation of the upper neck vertebrae,” the judgment stated.
The court further warned against increasing cases of violence involving children amid growing paternity disputes and DNA-related conflicts in the country, saying courts have a duty to deter such acts through firm punishment.
The justices ultimately concluded that the murder fell within the category of the gravest offences for which the death sentence remains appropriate.
Mutema was represented by lawyer Emmanuel Muwonge, who held brief for Henry Kunya, while the state prosecution team was led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Charles Richard Kamuli.
The ruling comes shortly after another high-profile murder case in which Christopher Okello Onyum was sentenced to death for the killing of four toddlers at a childcare centre in Ggaba. That case is also expected to go through the appellate court process.
Under Ugandan law, however, executions can only be carried out with presidential approval.
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