Yesterday, the Court of Appeal heard the case in which Jacqueline Uwera Nsenga was challenging her conviction and 20-year- jail sentence for killing her husband.
Justice Elizabeth Musoke and Barishaki Cheborion heard the appeal in which Nsenga is faulting the High Court judge Duncan Gaswaga for making a wrong decision.
Uwera was convicted of murder of her husband Juvenal Kananura Nsenga by running him over with a car at their home in Bugolobi, Kampala, in January 2013.
Through AF Mpanga Advocates, Uwera contends that the judge erred when he relied on unofficial translations of the supposed dying declarations of the deceased, which was in their mother tongue Kinyarwanda that ‘my wife has killed me’ and imported legal meaning to them.
Mr David Mpanga, one of the lawyers of Uwera, asked the Appeal Court to quash the conviction and sentence reasoning that the prosecution did not submit any certified translations of the supposed dying declarations but instead the witnesses gave their own interpretations of the statements based on their personal comprehension.
He argued that it was a great failing for the judge to admit the translations offered by the deceased’s relatives into evidence and to attribute legal nuances to them.
Mr Mpanga said the High Court judge failed to properly evaluate evidence on the record.
He also stated that Uwera was in the car when it accelerated accidentally and knocked the gate open occasioning injuries on the deceased, which ultimately caused his death.
“We submit that it not only takes a special murderous intent but also a suicidal intent for one to run into a closed gate. If the gate was closed as the evidence is on the record, then there are weak links for one to conclude that it was intentional rather than accidental,” Mr Mpanga said.
However, Ms Josephine Namatovu, a state lawyer, submitted that the car had no mechanical issues as it was stated by the experts.
Ms Namatovu also submitted that it was also not true that Uwera lost her mind by the time she committed the crime, since she knew it was her husband who was going to open the gate for her since their gatekeeper had gone home to visit his parents.
However, the justices asked Ms Namatovu whether there was any evidence on the court record that Uwera knew that it was her husband who was going to open the gate for her, to this, she answered no.