The military court martial sitting in Mayuge District has sentenced Private Robert Habertson Birivumbuka attached to the elite Special Forces Command (SFC), to death for the murder of five family members in Mayuge.

The incident, on June 29 in Nawanvubu Village in Buwaaya Sub- County, when the 28-year-old soldier opened fire on the family, claimed the lives of Isaac Mudhasi Buyinza and his children Elesi Kafuko, Resty Kantono, and Nicholas Musasizi.

Four others—Jesca Timujibwa, Viola Kyakueaire, Ham Kitiibwa, and Maureen—were injured.

Initially, he pleaded not guilty, but his plea changed after testimony from Entebbe Chief Magistrate Stella Maris Amabilis.

Magistrate Amabilis revealed that Birivumbuka had made an extrajudicial confession, admitting to the murder of his uncle, Isaac Mudhasi.

Birivumbuka claimed he acted due to Mudhasi's alleged intentions to have him arrested whenever he visited his mother, Zauma Namukose, and accused Mudhasi of involvement in false accusations against his father, Tagaba Patrick.

Following his conviction, Birivumbuka received multiple sentences: death for the first count of murder, 90 years in prison for the second, life imprisonment for the third, 54 years for the fourth, and 52 years for the fifth.

The court-martial presided over by Lt Col Moses Nabaasa emphasized that the sentences are intended as a strong deterrent against similar offenses.