Kenneth Akena murderer Mathew Kanyamunyu released after three years in jail

Matthew Kanyamunyu, who was sent to prison for killing a child rights activist, has been released after serving three years of his five-year jail sentence.

Kanyamunyu was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2020 for shooting dead child rights activist, Kenneth Akena in 2016. We understand his sentence was reduced due to good behavior while in prison.

Sentencing him in 2020, Justice Stephen Mubiru said that since Kanyamunyu was a first-time offender and had also taken the victim to the hospital, he won’t get life sentence.

Kanyamunyu was arrested in 2016 on suspicion that he drew a gun at Akena after he reportedly accidentally knocked his car in a parking lot in Lugogo, Kampala. Akena had reportedly gone to apologise to Kanyamunyu after the accident, but Kanyamunyu instead lowered the window of his car and shot him in the stomach with a pistol at close range. According to the family, a postmortem report revealed two bullets inside Akena’s body.

Akena died a few hours later at Norvic hospital along Bombo Road where he had been taken by the accused. Kanyamunyu has since then been on trial together with his Burundian girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari and sibling Joseph Kanyamunyu who allegedly hid the killer gun.

But throughout the trial, Kanyamunyu and his girlfriend insisted that they only took Akena to hospital as good Samaritans