The High Court Criminal Division in Kampala has convicted nine people of the 2018 kidnapping and murder of businesswoman Susan Magara, bringing to a close one of Uganda’s most high-profile and disturbing ransom cases after more than eight years of investigations and trial.
In an 84-page judgment delivered on Monday, August 3, 2026, Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji found the accused guilty of kidnapping Magara with intent to procure a ransom and of her subsequent murder. Those convicted are Yusuf Lubega, Mahad Kisalita, Ismail Bukenya, Abubaker Kyewokya (also referred to as Kyewolwa), Hassan Wasswa, Abbas Musa Buwembo, Hussein Kato Miiro, Hajjara Nakandi, and Muzamir Ssali.
“Accordingly, I agree with the three court assessors that the prosecution has proved the case against each of you, and you are convicted as charged,” Justice Ajiji ruled.
The court heard that Magara, then a cashier at Bwendeiro Dairy Farm and daughter of businessman John Magara, was abducted on the evening of February 7, 2018, while driving home in Lungujja, Kampala. She was speaking on the phone with a friend when the call suddenly ended amid sounds of a struggle. Her Toyota RAV4 was later found abandoned at the scene with the engine still running and her mobile phones left inside.
The kidnappers held her captive for nearly three weeks, demanding a ransom that started at as high as $1 million to $1.5 million before being negotiated down. Court evidence showed that two of Magara’s fingers were severed while she was still alive and sent to her family, along with a video, to force payment. Her family eventually delivered approximately $200,000 (about Shs700 million at the time) at Kanaaba in Ndejje.
Despite receiving the ransom, the captors killed Magara between February 25 and 27, 2018. Her body was later recovered dumped near Kitiko-Birongo along the Entebbe Expressway. A post-mortem established that she died of asphyxia due to strangulation.
Justice Ajiji ruled that the prosecution, which called 46 witnesses and presented extensive forensic, digital, phone, and financial evidence, had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the nine accused acted with a common intention. He noted that the group planned the abduction, detained and tortured Magara, demanded ransom, and ultimately killed her because she had become a liability capable of identifying them. Some of the convicts were found to have acquired assets shortly after the ransom was paid.
The nine had maintained their innocence throughout the trial. Two alleged masterminds, Yakub Byensi and Hakim Lugolobi, remain at large. Their absence, the judge ruled, does not diminish the criminal responsibility of those convicted.
Mitigation and sentencing were scheduled for Tuesday, August 4, 2026. Under Uganda’s Penal Code Act, a conviction for murder carries a maximum sentence of death by hanging.
The case, which shocked the nation in 2018 and remained in the public eye for years, marks a significant moment for the Magara family and for Uganda’s criminal justice system. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions described the convictions as justice served.