The High Court in Lira has sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for the murder of a National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) employee.
On Tuesday, Innocent Otim was sentenced to 35 years in prison by Justice Sarah Birungi Kalibala, the Resident Judge of Lira High Court, after pleading guilty to the murder of Natal Alaru.
The court heard that on April 2, 2025, at around 3:00 am, Alaru was heading to Lira Bus Park to board a taxi back to Moyo District when he met Otim at Obutowelo B Cell in Lira City West Division.
Prosecution said Otim attacked Alaru with a panga, cutting him severely on the head and leaving him critically injured.
Neighbors rushed Alaru to Lira Regional Referral Hospital, but he died shortly after arrival.
Police later recovered a blood-stained panga from Otim’s house. A report from the Government Analytical Laboratory confirmed that the weapon was used to inflict the fatal injuries.
Investigators also recovered two backpacks containing the deceased’s clothes, national identity card, driving permit, and ATM cards in an incomplete house near Otim’s home.
Prosecution presented 10 witnesses before the court placed Otim on his defence. It was at that stage that he changed his plea and admitted guilt.
Before his death, Alaru had just secured a job with NWSC in Lira. He left behind a young widow whom he had recently married and a one-and-a-half-year-old son.
The prosecution noted that his violent death deeply affected his family, colleagues, and the wider community.
Mr. Jonathan Okello, Chief State Attorney in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, prosecuted the case.
