Ugandan man sentenced to 40 years imprisonment for burning his wife and three children to death

A 45-year-old man from Uganda's Kigezi Sub-region was given a 40-year prison term for killing his wife and three kids in a house fire.

Vianney Armstrong Ahimbisibwe was sentenced by Kabale High Court Judge Samuel Emokor on February 22, 2023, after he admitted guilt to committing the crime in Habutobere Village, Muko Sub-county, Rubanda District.

As a result of the house being set on fire, Ahimbisibwe killed his wife Rovinah Muheki, 43, his sons Edwin Tumworobire and Westlife Akampumuriza, both 17, and his 5-year-old daughter Maria Akwire Akinamushabire.

He had divorced his wife after a disagreement, and he was living in a different house at the time of the crime.

Although Ahimbisibwe did not waste the court's time, Justice Emokor stated in his decision that he should still be punished harshly for the heinous crime of brutally killing the lives of members of his close family.

The court contends that the offenses he committed were significant and warrants for a death sentence once proven guilty, the judge said. "Although the defendant pleaded for a lenient punishment, appeared contrite and regrets his acts," the judge said.

He is hereby sentenced to 40 years in prison for each count of murder, Justice Emokor added, "taking into consideration the submission of the state prosecution calling for a deterrence sentence by punishing the convict based on the number of people he murdered, the fact that he did not take lives of foreigners but his immediate family members to achieve his pre-determined evil motives."

The judge explained that the one year and eight months Ahimbisibwe had spent on remand would be deducted from the 40-year sentence, making the total time he must spend 38 years and four months.

The court gave Ahimbisibwe a 15-year term for the offense of arson.

In addition, he was given a two-year prison term for abusing his sole son, who had survived the fire, and causing actual bodily harm. However, the judge made it clear that all of the sentences will run consecutively, therefore the defendant will serve 38 years and 4 months.

"The sentence shall run concurrently beginning on the day this judgment is issued, and the convict has the right to appeal against this ruling within 14 days if he is not satisfied," Justice Emokor said.

According to the prosecution, on June 12, 2021, around 8 p.m., Ahimbisibwe went to the deceased wife's shop/bar in Muko Sub-county, Rubanda District, where he found her with their children.

He then began assaulting one of his sons, Bob Mathius Muheki (survivor), demanding to know why he had not finished ferrying sand on his construction site. However, other residents stepped in and saved the boy from his father.

A neighbor later warned the wife and kids to take precautions after he saw the irate husband hiding in an unfinished structure next to their house. This was after the woman and kids returned home.

Later, at around 10 o'clock, the neighbors heard screaming coming from within the house and discovered it was on fire. The fire claimed the lives of every inhabitant. Further research revealed that earlier that evening, Ahimbisibwe had been spotted carrying a jerrycan at a neighboring gas station.