In a courtroom decision on Thursday, High Court Judge Isaac Muwata delivered life sentences to Coporiyamu Kasolo, also known as Arsenal, and Johnson Lubega, known as Etoo or Manomano. They were found guilty of charges related to the kidnapping, murder, and aggravated robbery of social worker Maria Nagirinya and her driver Ronald Kitayimbwa. In contrast, their co-convicts, Hassan Kisekka, Nasif Kalyango, and Sharif Mpanga, received 30-year sentences as they were considered accomplices in the crimes. However, Sadat Kateregga, also known as Baros, was acquitted due to a lack of evidence linking him to the offenses.
The victims, Maria Nagirinya and Ronald Kitayimbwa, were brutally murdered on August 28, 2019. Their lifeless bodies were discovered in a swamp in Nama sub-county, Mukono district, on August 30, 2019, by the police. At the time of her tragic death, Nagirinya was employed by the non-governmental organization Community Integrated Development Initiative.
According to the prosecution, Coporiyamu Kasolo, Johnson Lubega, and others still at large in Nabisasilo zone, Rubaga division, Kampala district, forcibly kidnapped Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa with the intent to murder. On the same day, the group also robbed Kitayimbwa of his mobile phone with the serial number S/no. 356839092092020 and Ugandan shillings 24,000. Additionally, they robbed Nagirinya of Ugandan shillings 260,000 and her Toyota Spacio, which was later found abandoned in Nateete.