DAVID KATO’S KILLER GETS 30 YEARS

Sidney Nsubuga Enoch, the man found guilty of murdering Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato earlier this year, has been sentenced to 30 years in jail by the High Court in Mukono, outside of Kampala.

While the sentence may come as some comfort to Kato’s friends and family, questions remain about Nsubuga’s motives and the circumstances of the murder.

Nsubuga (22), who admitted to the crime, has claimed that he attacked Kato after he made repeated sexual advances on him.

The murder came shortly after Kato, who was the advocacy officer for the organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), was publicly outed in a tabloid calling for gays and lesbians to be hanged.

According to Uganda’s Daily Monitor, the prosecution in the case claimed that on 26 January Kato demanded sex from Nsubuga, who Kato had allowed to stay at his home.

After numerous alleged advances during the day, the prosecution claims that Kato locked the house and informed Nsubuga that it was time for them to have sex. Nsubuga told Kato that he first needed to go to the bathroom.

“While in the bathroom, Nsubuga picked up a hammer, came back to the living room and hit the deceased on the back of the head twice,” the prosecutor, Ms.Karungi, told the court.

Nsubuga went on to steal a camera, computer keyboard, clothes and a mobile phone before fleeing the house.

Kato was found by a friend that afternoon, lying in a pool of blood. He was still alive but died on the way to hospital.

The police have insisted that Kato’s death was not related to his work as an activist in Uganda, where homosexuality is illegal and is punishable by life imprisonment.