Ironically, Bagyenda Brian is Col. Kaka Bagyenda’s son. Brian confessed to killing his girlfriend Enid Twijukye in cold blood, three years ago. The confession went viral on social media and the public judged him ruthlessly. None could believe a successful young pharmacist and doctor who had got a first-class degree at university could be capable of such a crime. He had it all going for him and all his friends could testify how polite and quiet the young man was, while at university.
The press reported every minute of the court hearings that day. Photographers from the media were ready to cover better images. The authors took their pens and journals eagerly. This case was obviously of concern to the public. Bagyenda Brian, son of Col Kaka Bagyenda, the Director-General of the Internal Security Organisation (ISO), was in the dock. It was the day of judgment.
The situation was tragically dramatic. The young Bagyenda had specifically confirmed he had murdered his girlfriend Enid Twijukye before the legal case commenced. The media published the video confession on various networks and it widely circulated on social media. His judgment was covered with conjecture. Because he admitted to the crime, the public believed he will get a harsh sentence. However, others thought he may potentially receive a minor sentence because he was associated with government officials.
Bagyenda had begged the judge during his trial to acquit him and then condemn him as a convicted lunatic in prison to wait for ministerial advice because he was allegedly not psychologically straight at the time he committed the crime. Some thought the decision could depend on his appeal. Nothing bent towards his plea.
A 32-Year-Sentence for a 32-Year-Old
The young man was sentenced to jail in Luzira. During all the court proceedings in the last three years, Bagyenda displayed an air of guilt. This was a lamentable image of impotence. He was a disarmed man who had been caught with his own erroneous choices. Bagyenda did not waste time lying to the court, either. All this may in the final judgment have played a role.
However, for a 32-year-old, he was given a 32-year jail sentence. Bagyenda was new to the public when all this happened. He was a common man. When the homicide happened, the young man with powerful relations was found ill-advised. He probably thought he could survive without the repercussions of committing such a hideous crime. He figured he could.
The people who recognized him, though (at least from their Facebook comments), were appalled. He was not the man they knew.
One wrote, “My Goodness, while I acted as the Academic Minister of St. Henry’s College, Kitovu in 2005-2006, he was my senior. I am so disappointed in my brother, former student and former supervisor. A genius young pharmacist who exhibited his potential to change the world, to kill his girlfriend over an image on her phone…what Bagyenda Brian did to his girlfriend remains incomprehensible to me.”
Raymond Reuel Yesuafuga Sseguya was another Facebook regular. He said, “I knew Bagyenda Brian before. He’s an intelligent man. I was with him when I won the Kickstart Top 20 Ugandan businessmen of the 2014 Nile Breweries Challenge. Besides, the UN had planned the Sheraton’s tech conference where Brian Bagyenda earned an award, and he got a great deal of cash.”
Sseguya incredulously kept thinking, “Why was Bagyenda Brian prepared to murder a young lady, yet he could still have moved on to do various activities in his life? How can a cheating girlfriend ruin a young, brilliant man’s life and potential?” With weeping emojis, he ended his comment.
The press subsequently approached Mr. Sseguya for more specifics. He said Bagyenda was never a violent criminal.
“I did not consider Bagyenda Brian a self-important individual or an aggressive man in my encounters with him at school in 2014 and 2015. We followed common interests like [Kickstart],” said Sseguya.
Bagyenda Brian was an A-student
Bagyenda was often an ‘A’ student, according to Sseguya. “His rating was four out of four in PLE, eight in eight at O-Level, 25 out of 25 at A-Level and MUK, he obtained a First Class Degree in Pharmacy. If one inquires from any of his OB’s, in Light Grammar, Makerere University, and St Henry’s College, Kitovu, all the information was authentic. We don’t understand why a girl could lead him in the opposite direction,” he says before he continues, “there may be another side of the story we don’t know.”
An ex-Nile Breweries middle manager said Bagyenda is a rather oriented young man (names not provided on request). In 2014, when the organization operated a youth entrepreneurship initiative called Kickstart, she had worked with him for such a long time. They invited applications from persons aged 18 to 35 years. 20 applications out of 300 were picked. Bagyenda had one of the most impressive applications.
“His concept was what he had termed the ‘Speed Condom Distribution’ against the transmission of HIV / AIDS. It aimed to reduce risk rates by providing a service that helps users to have a condom shipped within 8 to 15 minutes. He was one of the best, but he did not win,” she added.
One of the participants in the project said, “From his talks, he was a calm and intelligent man. He appeared to only be a young man of immense courage.”
Bagyenda inspired those with whom he learned and served. None of those people may recall whether he behaved or became abusive out of the ordinary. Also, mental health professionals acknowledged (within court) that, despite their frequent encounters with him, Bagyenda did not exhibit homicidal intentions.
So What Happened? Was there any Psychological Health Issue? How did the Neighbors Perceive Bagyenda?
Throughout the case, the attorneys of Bagyenda would contend clearly that at the time he assassinated his girlfriend, he was depressed. Therefore, that should be fair not being criminally responsible under the law in the right frame of mind. A doctor, Brian Mutamba of the Butabika Psychiatric Hospital appeared in court, claiming that he had been treating Bagyenda for depression for around three months in October 2016.
Dr. Mutamba, the first prosecution witness, claimed that during the therapy, Bagyenda often had thoughts of suicide. However, the High Court dismissed this defense of Bagyenda’s history of mental disorder. The judge quoted the facts from psychiatric professionals Dr. Ojar and Dr. Jane Frances Nantamu in his rationale for convicting Bagyenda that depression is not a lifelong condition of psychological trauma, rather, they are “mood swings.”
On the day of the murder, the neighbors in Plot 2, Njobe Street in Luzira, were shocked to see a strong police presence. They knew that the house belonged to Bagyenda’s father, a highly-placed government official.
“The last one to be accused of committing such a crime was Brian,” says a male neighbor, “as we discovered someone at the Kaka House was murdered. Two beautiful girls were staying at Brian’s place. They became popular as they brought boyfriends into the house at all times. I figured it was a war over such a thing. Even with the continuing tale, we were saddened to learn about the murder of Brian’s girlfriend and that Brian had committed the crime. I was stunned.”
The neighbor, when questioned why he’d been surprised, said, “Brian wasn’t a violent guy. His frustration was hardly ever. He was a gentle guy, but he was anti-social. He’s an introvert. He’d come, pay me for his car-wash, move in and stay in the house. I have never seen him drunk or drug intoxicated.”
A woman neighbor, however, joined the discussion. To Bagyenda, she didn’t have any kind words. She notes, “He wasn’t humble. It’s because he was cruel and of cold disposition. He was mean, controlling, and he poorly treated his workers,” she paused.
She claims Bagyenda’s dog sprang across the fence at some point and bit a boy. The boy’s parents pleaded, but couldn’t get him to relent or give them any money to help the boy. He then offered them Shs100,000 to take the infant to the hospital only when they had confiscated his car key.
Jealousy, a Deadly Poison, and the Verdict
He was always in the company of attractive ladies, depending on the neighbors who operate the corner shops down the street from the house Bagyenda stayed in. He was a Ladies’ guy.
“His women were pretty. It’s too insecure. I guess he set himself up for jealousy,” one said.
During the court case, the elder sister of the deceased claimed she did not know Enid Twijukye and Brian were in any relationship. Twijukye’s only boyfriend was in New York for his studies. Did Bagyenda figure it out that fateful night while snooping through her phone? Maybe, he realized she was engaged to another guy, a woman he loved so much. Did he decide to only threaten her as he believed she had used him? Might it be this endeavor, the green-eyed beast, during the fight, got hold of its mental skills? Maybe we will never learn. We would never know.
Yet he called his shamba boys (Innocent Bainomugisha and Vincent Rwahwire) on that deadly evening, who were a short distance away from his home, that they should come over quickly. They helped him to kill Enid Twijukye and then discarded her corpse for Shs 200,000 each.
Bagyenda was a young specialist with a prosperous career awaiting him. He was a man with superior intelligence, who was on top at all levels of his schooling. His disposition was normally cool and well-known. He was not out of the norm for his general conduct. The prosecution includes all the features of a committed crime of passion.
If we had to suggest that passion crimes happen to the best of us, the definition would fit Bagyenda. Within this tragedy that seemed to have been created by fate itself, he was a sympathetic protagonist from the look of things.
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