A man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for providing false information to investigating officers regarding the murder of businessman Francis Onebe’s wife. The court heard that Twaha Semanda, an Assistant Inspector of Police attached to Kabalagala Police Station, gave inaccurate details related to the case.
Semanda testified in a High Court case where Onebe is accused of killing his wife, Immaculate Mary Blessing Aiso, and disposing of her body in a septic tank. Onebe, a businessman, faces murder charges alongside private security guard Bonny Oriekot from the Pentagon Security Company. If convicted, the penalty could be death.
The trial unfolded with Semanda’s revelation that Onebe’s daughter received instructions to deposit 6.2 million Ugandan shillings into an account registered under the name of Gerald Abaasi. Abaasi’s statement implicated individuals in a conspiracy to murder Aiso, including former manager Charles Okello of Pentagon Security Company and businessman Brain Kwezira, the executive director of Kwizera Bus Company.
Abaasi alleged that Okello paid 150 million shillings to individuals, including Kwezira, to carry out the murder. He claimed that Aiso was strangled to death and her body was discreetly taken to her matrimonial home in Munyonyo, Kampala.
However, Makindye Chief Magistrates Court found Abaasi’s claims to be false and sentenced him to 10 months in prison.
Meanwhile, the trial of Onebe and Oriekot continues, with Semanda’s testimony shedding light on the complex case. The hearing concluded prematurely, with the judge indicating that a future date would be communicated to both the defense and prosecution for the trial to resume.
The background of the case reveals that Onebe reported his wife missing on January 6, 2021, alleging that she was taken away by plainclothes operatives in a ‘drone’. A week later, her body was discovered in a septic tank at the couple’s residence in Buziga, Munyonyo, following a joint security team operation led by the Crime Investigation Department of the Police Force.
Preliminary investigations by the police suggest that Onebe and Aiso had a history of disputes, including one related to sorcery, which allegedly led to Aiso’s death. Onebe was subsequently arrested and charged with murder before the Makindye Chief Magistrates Court. Upon completion of investigations, the case was transferred to the High Court for trial, where it continues to unfold with various twists and turns.
