Corporal David Ssali, the police officer who in 2019, shot and killed Ronald Ssebulime who had been arrested for allegedly trailing the then ICT State minister, Idah Nantaba, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Charles Twiine, the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID), said Ssali was convicted of murder on his own plea of guilty, and was sentenced to 20 years.
Twiine said that the accused changed his plea after noticing overwhelming evidence against him from the investigating officers.
Ssebulime, 40, was gunned down by police officers on March 24, in Mukono District on suspicion of tracking Idah Nantaba with intentions of harming her.
Police officers on patrol arrested Ssebulime, handcuffed him and dumped him on a police patrol van before they pulled him down and shot him dead.
The officers had intervened after Nantaba alerted police that two men riding on a grey Suzuki Sports motorcycle registration number UDL 822A were trailing her in a suspicious manner.
Corporal Ssali who is said to have directly shot Ssebulime was later arrested and arraigned at Mukono Magistrates Court where he was charged with murder.
In the aftermath, Ms Nantaba and three police constables; Ronald Opira, Edward Cherotich and Ronald Baganza were also sued by Ssebulime’s family for their involvement in the shooting that claimed Ssebulime, a single father of two.
However, the then DPP, Mike Chibita advised police to try the police constables in the Police Disciplinary Unit instead since their commander, Corporal Ssali had confessed to the crime and a ballistic report proved that it was his gun that was used to kill Ssebulime.
DPP also withdrew murder charges against the minister.
Ssali was charged before grade one magistrate Mariam Nulugya in April, 2019 and remanded to Luzira prison after he had reportedly recorded an extrajudicial statement in regards to the shooting.
