Pte Herbertson Birivumbuka, a UPDF soldier attached to the Special Forces Command has confessed to killing the Mayuge family of five due to revenge but said he was sorry.
In June this year, Pte Birivumbuka walked into the home of Isaac Isabirye Mudhasi, 42, and opened fire on the family members in Mayuge District in eastern Uganda.
He killed five family members and injured others.
Appearing before the division court martial of the first Special Forces Group of SFC sitting at Buwaya sub county headquarters in Mayuge district and chaired by Lt Col Moses Nabasa, the soldier pleaded guilty but said he was overtaken by emotions leading to the gruesome murder.
He said while he had grown up with the deceased, Mudhasi who was loved so much by his (Birivumbuka) , mother, he didnt repay this love.
The soldier told court that whereas it was alleged that the murder arose out of a land wrangle land, this was not true.
“Everyone had their own land. The man who died(Mudhasi) had his land and my dad had his.It was therefore not true there was a land dispute but he used the same claim as a weapon against me,”Pte Birivumbika said.
He told court that he has never gone to court over the said land matter.
The soldier however explained the genesis of their misunderstanding, noting that while growing up , one day, Mudhasi inflicted a wound on him and his(Birivumbuka) mother forgave him but since this day, they never saw eye to eye with each other.
“He started hating us. If mum was bad hearted he would have killed him but she protected him. However, whenever he could come across my mum, he wished to strangle her,” he said.
He said issues regarding this bad blood were always reported to the LC one chairman but the matter was never followed up.
Poisoning allegations
Pte Birivumbuka said the bad blood between his family and that of Mudhasi continued that one day in 2018, before he joined the army, he the deceased put poison in the family’s water drum which was placed outside the house.
“It was around 6pm while we were going to the centre and mum returned home. He found him pouring poison in the water drum. When mum made an alarm, he ran into the sugarcane plantation.”
He said when the matter was reported to the LC1 chairman and a meeting was called at their home, when the water was poured in the compound, all grass dried up instantly.
“I asked myself if a by-passer or my mum had not seen him wouldnt over 50 people die after drinking this water?”
He said when the matter was referred to police, Mudhasi used the influence of his relatives who were police officers to frustrate the case.
“They came to the meeting and said there was no case since no one had witnessed him. I tried to get bottle to draw water from drum and took it to Buwaya but they chased me away saying we had family issues. When I went to job and told it to my bosses, no one cared. It continued hurting me whenever I could go to police would be chased away.”
He said when he was deployed to DRC as part of Operation Shuja, he got news of the death of his mother and that his mind ran to words by Mudhasi’s family that his mother would die in a bad state.
Pte Birivumbika told court when he returned home and events leading to his mother’s death were narrated to him, he felt more anger.
He said later, Mudhasi opened up trumped up defilement where his dad was sent to prison and that on several occasions, there were attempts to poison his dad from prison.
“Whenever I could tell elders on the village and my brothers, they didnt care,” he said.
He said that at one time he acquired a ssh5 million loan that he used to buy 500 chicken for rearing and that one night, all were killed.
“I heard him( Mudhasi) boasting that I they wouldnt allow me have anything. It angered me.”
He said despite all these trials and tribulations that he went through, no one cared to help him but rather rebuked him.
“This situation pushed me to the wall. I pray for forgiveness but I had too much pain,”Pte Birivumbika.
Forgiveness
The SFC soldier said since he is a first time offender, court should forgive him.
I was hurt with what I did. It was too much pain and I didnt wish it to happen.
” I promise if you give me a chance for pardon, I will never repeat it . I ask the family I hurt that whatever happened I am sorry. I pray for forgiveness. It might be hard from your side but I was also feeling hurt.”
The court will later today, Thursday give a sentence to Pte Birivumbika after pleading guilty to the charges.
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