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By Peter Luzinda
The Masindi High Court has sentenced Betty Cherotich, the widow of the late Dr. Jino Abiriga, along with her two accomplices, Martin Kipsang and Joshua Namurenge, to 33 years, three months, and 23 days in prison for the brutal murder of the former Masindi District Acting Health Officer.
The sentencing took place on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, after the trio pleaded guilty to murder charges earlier this month before Masindi Resident Judge, Lady Justice Mary Babirye.
According to State Attorney Charlotte Nanziri, the motive behind the killing was jealousy. In December 2023, Cherotich learned that her husband was having an affair with one Susan Atuhuura. Consumed by rage, she devised a plan to have him killed.
On December 23, 2023, Cherotich contacted Kipsang to arrange the murder, offering a payment of UGX 2.5 million. Kipsang and Namurenge then traveled from Bukwo District to Masindi on January 5, 2024, checking into Valentines Guest House to wait for further instructions.
The court heard that the duo purchased two hoe handles from a nearby hardware store as murder weapons. On the night of January 6, 2024, Cherotich sent them a text message signaling the time to strike. She opened the gate for them and led them to the bedroom where her husband lay asleep.
There, Kipsang struck Dr. Abiriga on the head with a hoe handle. The three then dragged him to the floor, where they slit his throat with a knife, killing him instantly. They proceeded to clean the body, dress it in a red T-shirt and blue trousers, and dumped it about 50 metres from the house under a mango tree.
Phone records presented in court confirmed communication between Cherotich and the killers. After the murder, Kipsang and Namurenge returned to the guest house, disposed of their blood-stained clothes in a pit latrine, and fled Masindi around 5 a.m.
Police later tracked and arrested the suspects in Bukwo District, from where they were transferred back to Masindi.
During sentencing, all three convicts asked for forgiveness. Cherotich expressed remorse, saying she now faced the burden of raising the children she shared with the deceased.
“I was angry after learning about his girlfriend,” she told the court.
Kipsang, a 31-year-old carpenter from Ruruk Village, and Namurenge, a 36-year-old builder from Tarobya Village, both claimed to be first-time offenders and also sought leniency.
In her ruling, Justice Babirye condemned the murder as a grievous and premeditated crime against a respected public servant.
“The late Dr. Abiriga was a person of high integrity who provided essential health services to the community. His murderers should not go unpunished,” she stated.
She noted that while the maximum sentence could have gone up to 45 years, the guilty plea and remorse shown by the convicts were considered as mitigating factors, reducing the sentence to 33 years, three months, and 23 days, effective from September 23, 2025.
The trio retains the right to appeal the sentence within 30 days if dissatisfied with the ruling.
