Woman convicted of killing friend over ‘mzungu’ boyfriend freed

 

A Rwandese woman who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 has been set free by an appellate court.

Antoinette Uwineza was convicted of killing her pregnant friend over a British boyfriend.

In 2018 Justice Jessie Lessit found Uwineza guilty for the murder of Winnie Uwambae a fellow Rwandese and her best friend.

Judge Lessit handed her a life sentence but the court of appeal on Friday released her unconditionally.

Uwineza was charged that on February 16, 2013 at Saharan Lodge along Duruma Road in Nairobi she killed Winnie who was seven months pregnant.

She was charged alongside two others but they were later acquitted and she was the only one found guilty for the murder.

The police had claimed that there was a rivalry between the two friends to win over a British man who had overlooked Uwineza and instead fallen in love with her friend Winnie.

Through Lawyer John Swaka, Uwineza had appealed the ruling by Judge Lessit maintaining her innocence in the whole saga.

In their ruling delivered on Friday, Judges Martha Koome, Hannah Okwengu and Fatuma Sichale allowed her appeal and ruled that the circumstantial evidence relied upon to convict Antoinette fell short of the threshold required.

The Judges further said the circumstances may have raised suspicion but the prosecution must prove that case against her beyond any reasonable doubt.

“From the injuries that were in Winnie’s body when she was discovered we do not doubt that whoever inflicted the injuries and strangled her had the intention of causing her death or serious injuries, such that malice aforethought can be inferred against the person,” they ruled.

However, the person who inflicted the injuries must be established through evidence that meets the required standards.

“We find that the evidence adduced against Antoinette fell short of proving that she inflicted injuries on Winnie either on her own or in concert with others, no inference of malice aforethought could therefore be attributed to the appellant from Winnie’s injuries,” the court held.

The court further noted that the deceased fiancé Simon had told the court that he believed that Antoinette is the one who called him posing as a Juliet however he only spoke to her for a short time.

According to the court, there is, therefore, doubt as to whether Simon the alleged could have made a voice impression which was foolproof regarding the similarity in the voices.