The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of Faridah Nagayi, alias Miriam, for the murder of her Finnish boyfriend, Tuomas Juha Petteri Terasvouri, at the Pearl of Africa Hotel in Kampala but reduced her sentence from 30 years to 27 years, three months, and 22 days. The court of appeal panel, comprising Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera, Lady Justice Eva Luswata, and Justice Oscar Kihika, delivered the ruling on Thursday, nearly seven years after the incident.
Court records show that Terasvouri, a Finnish national, arrived in Uganda at Entebbe International Airport on February 5, 2018, alongside Suvi Alindi, a former communications officer at Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their visit was based on an invitation letter from Nagayi, later discovered to be forged. “The appellant received the deceased’s invitation letter into Uganda on February 3, 2018, through assistance from Caroline Arinda, an officer attached to the Internal Security Organisation (ISO).
Arinda was introduced to the appellant by one Musa Nyanzi,” court documents state. Upon arrival, Nagayi and Terasvouri were taken to the ISO offices for questioning over the forged invitation. After being released, they checked into the Pearl of Africa Hotel for the night. The next morning, Nagayi informed the hotel reception that Terasvouri was unwell. A hotel nurse was sent to their room, only to find him dead. Police investigations later revealed that he had ingested a mixture of drugs, pesticides, insecticides, and acaricides, which caused his death.
Evidence indicated that the previous night, Terasvouri had asked Nagayi to purchase some drugs for him, which she did. Nagayi was arrested along with two others, Fatima Kabagambe Fatuma and Nassif Walusimbi. However, the two co-accused were later acquitted due to a lack of evidence linking them to the crime. At the time of her conviction, the then 36-year-old was sentenced to 30 years in prison by High Court Judge Margaret Mutonyi.
The prosecution, led by Principal Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Caroline Hope Nabasa and Chief State Attorney Timothy Amerit, argued that the sentence was appropriate given the gravity of the crime. During the trial, the prosecution presented CCTV footage showing Nagayi leaving the hotel room and returning with a handbag and a black polythene bag, believed to have contained the toxic substances that led to Terasvouri’s death.
Nagayi, through her lawyer Henry Kenya, appealed against the conviction and sentence on 10 grounds, including claims that the trial judge relied on weak circumstantial evidence. She also argued that there was no direct evidence linking her to the murder and that the judge’s belief in a conspiracy to kill Terasvouri led to a miscarriage of justice.
The Court of Appeal reviewed her appeal but found no merit in her arguments, ruling that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the court considered mitigating factors, including Nagayi’s youthful age at the time (36), her status as a first-time offender, and her role as a single mother of two school-going children. The judges also weighed aggravating factors, such as breach of trust and the diplomatic strain the case caused between Uganda and Finland.
Additionally, the court noted that the trial judge did not deduct the time Nagayi spent on remand, as required by Article 23(8) of the Constitution. “Having read the sentencing order, we are of the view that although the trial judge appeared to have appreciated the requirement to deduct the remand period from the sentence, she did not specifically make the deduction,” the justices ruled.
The court, ruling last week, determined that Nagayi spent two years, eight months, and eight days on remand before conviction. She also spent six months and six days on bail. As a result, her sentence was reduced to 27 years, three months, and 22 days, effective from June 6, 2022, the date of her conviction.
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