Prison warder Moses Anguyo has been sentenced to death by the High Court in Kiboga after admitting responsibility for four murders committed during a shooting at Kiboga Government Prison on February 23, 2026.
Anguyo was also handed prison terms for two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of threatening violence arising from the same incident.
The court ordered him to serve two years for each of the aggravated robbery charges and three years for threatening violence.
It also directed him to compensate two robbery victims with Shs35,000 for a pair of trousers and Shs25,000 for an Arsenal jersey.
Justice Jane Okuo Kajuga delivered the sentences after considering submissions from both the prosecution and defence, including circumstances that increased and reduced Anguyo’s culpability.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the court found that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating factors.
The events leading to the case began during a routine inspection at Kiboga Government Prison, where Anguyo was stationed at Sentry “A” and was carrying a firearm.
Prosecutors said Anguyo had been found using a mobile phone while on duty and was instructed to surrender his weapon.
Instead, prosecutors said he became violent and pointed the firearm at Superintendent of Police Ivan Niwagaba, the Officer in Charge of Kiboga Government Prison.
The firearm initially failed to fire, but prosecutors said Anguyo re-cocked it and fired at Niwagaba, who escaped unharmed.
The shooting then spread to other parts of the prison compound.
Sarah Ayebare and her one-and-a-half-year-old son, Salson Niwagaba, were shot while inside a vehicle on the prison premises.
ASP Catherine Hope, a senior prison official, was also killed. PO1 Bright Akishuri was shot dead while responding to the gunfire. The four deaths became the central basis of the murder charges against Anguyo.
The court considered the number of lives lost among the aggravating circumstances, particularly because two of the deceased were public servants carrying out their duties and one was a young child. The use of an AK-47 rifle was also considered an aggravating factor.
The court further considered the alleged targeting of victims based on tribal identity and the breach of trust involved in a trained prison officer using a firearm entrusted to him to commit the offences.
The deaths left six children orphaned. Among the deceased was Ayebare, who was an architect. Despite the severity of the offences, the court also considered factors in Anguyo’s favour.
His guilty plea, youth, remorse, willingness to compensate the robbery victims and apology to the public were among the mitigating circumstances considered.
The ODPP said the court also found no evidence that the offences had been premeditated. After leaving the prison, Anguyo went to Saza Trading Centre while still armed.
There, he robbed two women of clothing, taking trousers belonging to Grace Katusiime and an Arsenal jersey belonging to Mary Nabayiga.
He later abandoned his prison uniform and firearm in a bush in Kibiga Sub-county.
Anguyo then fled towards northern Uganda before crossing into the Democratic Republic of Congo. His escape prompted a cross-border manhunt involving Ugandan and Congolese security agencies.
He was arrested in Aru, DRC, on March 27, 2026, following a joint operation involving Ugandan security personnel and Congolese authorities.
He was subsequently returned to Uganda to face the charges. When the case first came before the High Court, Anguyo pleaded not guilty. He later changed his plea and admitted all seven offences.
The prosecution was led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Dr Daisy Nabasitu and Senior State Attorney Stephen Ariong. Anguyo was represented by lawyers Swaibu Male and Cate Nakamya.
The sentencing now marks a major judicial development in a case that began with the Kiboga prison shooting and later crossed national borders during Anguyo’s escape.
Following the sentencing, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said the decision demonstrated the seriousness with which the law treats the taking of human life and violent criminal conduct.
“The sentence is a solemn reminder of the seriousness with which the law treats the taking of human life and violent criminal conduct,”
The prosecution office also expressed sympathy to the families of the people who died.
“The outcome of this case affirms the Office of the DPP’s commitment, as well as the commitments of its criminal justice counterparts, the police and the Judiciary, to ensuring accountability for grave crimes and delivering justice to victims and their families,”
The case has also drawn attention to the circumstances surrounding the use of firearms by public officers entrusted with weapons in the course of their duties.
The court’s consideration of both aggravating and mitigating circumstances provides the basis for understanding how it arrived at the sentence.
Although the High Court has sentenced Anguyo to death, the case is not necessarily at its final legal stage. The death sentence remains subject to Uganda’s legal appeal process.
The available information does not confirm whether Anguyo has filed an appeal or whether one will be filed.
For the families affected by the Kiboga prison shooting, the sentencing represents the latest confirmed development in a case that claimed four lives and left six children orphaned.
For the Ugandan justice system, the case has also involved a cross-border arrest, prosecution of seven offences and a court assessment of both aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Moses Anguyo’s death sentence therefore concludes the High Court stage of the case, while the possibility of further proceedings remains under Uganda’s legal appeal process.
