Eyewitness identifies judge as murder suspect

GeitaIn an extraordinary turn of events during the trial of Zephania Ndalawa, accused of culpable homicide, a third witness, nine-year-old Salome Cheyo, implicated Judge Graffin Mwakapeje in the murder of Thomas Masumbuko.

Salome, a second-grade student at Burigi Primary School, testified in the murder case of Thomas Masumbuko (12), who was found dead after his hands and feet were tied with ropes, a rag was placed over his face and his mouth was gagged, causing him to suffocate.

During the proceedings led by District Attorney Musa Mlawa, Salome left the witness stand to point out the suspect before going directly to the judge and identifying him.

Even after she returned to the judge’s podium, Mlawa’s attorney asked her again about the white man who had chased her on the day of the incident. The child insisted that it was the judge who presided over the case, which drew laughter from the courtroom.

Earlier, during the testimony of Salome, who had difficulty answering questions about understanding concepts such as sin and truth, she was allowed to appear without taking an oath due to her difficulty understanding the questions asked by the judge.

In her testimony, she described an encounter with a motorcycle on August 19, 2023, while she was going to fetch water. She was chased and her bucket was stolen.

She also said she was caught and taken to her grandmother’s house where she later found her uncle tied up and bleeding. After escaping, she sought refuge with her aunt only to discover Thomas Masumbuko, also tied up and strangled with a cloth over his face.

During questioning by Mlawa’s attorney, Salome described the perpetrator as a tall, white man who helps carry produce during harvesting. At the attorney’s request, she identified the suspect as being present in the courtroom, pointing directly at the judge presiding over the case.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Beatrice Amos, Salome stated that she did not know the accused sitting in the dock, nor did she know anything about the motorcycle presented as evidence in court.

Another witness, Leticia Herman (33), mother of Thomas Masumbuko, described finding her son tied up and bloodied in the house, next to his brother, who had also been attacked.

The trial continues in the Geita Court as the prosecution presents its witnesses.