Emotion filled Gulu High Court room on Monday afternoon after a woman asked court Judge Lady Justice Elizabeth Nahamya to hand her husband a life imprisonment over the death of two of their children.
Beatrice Acayo, 35, told the judge that after a fire incident which claimed the lives of two of her children, she cannot get over it easily, more than three years after the incident.
Her husband, Charles Omona, 55, was convicted of three counts of murder following death of three children by the presiding judge and sentenced by the judge to life in prison.
Acayo told court that Omona was a violent man who does not deserve any leniency.
She says prior to the murder of her children, Omona had planned to cut her with an axe.
Court heard that on the early morning hours of March 22, 2012 at Awoo- Nyim village, Patiko Sub County in Gulu district, Omona set the house where his four children were sleeping. Unfortunately, three children perished in the fire. Its only their 13-year-old daughter Concy Akanyo who escaped with serious burns on the body.
In her testimony to court, Akanyo said she recognised her father that fateful day when he pushed the door of the house they were sleeping in and flashed a touch.
Akanyo told the judge that her father was acting strange since he did not say anything when she greeted him. Shortly after that, according a fire broke out in the house at 2 am. She said tried to wake up the other three children who died in the fire but the burning house collapsed on them.
The children who died in the fire were identified as Harriet Arach, 11, a P5 pupil and Brian Watdok, 7, a P2—all biological children of Acayo and Omona. Barbra Apio, 9 who also died in the inferno was a daughter to Omona’s brother-in-law. All the children were pupils of Awoo- Nyim Primary School.
It is suspected that Omona used petrol to set the fire before escaping the scene to Coke Parish, Lamogi Sub County in Amuru district, some 10 miles from the scene of the crime.
Patrick Omia, the Resident State Attorney described Omona’s as inhumane and cruel. Omia argued that the convict demonstrated that he does not value life even of children and asked for a maximum sentence of death.
But his lawyer Paul Layoo asked court to spare his client’s life saying Omona is suffering from prostate cancer. He asked for a 20 year jail term.
However the Lady Nahamya who had no kind word for Omona describing him as heinous since he chose to kill innocent children who she described as gifts from God. The judge handed Omona life in prison on each of the three counts.
1 Comment
Omona could be violent and what he did is not only sad but also very shocking. However one has to take into consideration post war Trauma that People like Omona could be suffering hence compelling him to do the Kind of Thing that he did.. Surely a mentally healthy Person would not carry out such crimes.