Africa-Press – Rwanda. The High Court in Kigali has rejected the appeal of Denis Kazungu, who was convicted of murdering 13 people, and upheld the life sentence and a Rwf10 million fine handed down by the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court in early 2024.
The 36-year-old former teacher, who has been under detention since September 2023, has no option to appeal the High Court ruling delivered on Friday, July 11.
The court ruled that Kazungu’s appeal lacked merit and that the lower court’s verdict, rendered on March 7, 2024, remains unchanged.
On June 12, Kazungu requested a reduced sentence, citing cooperation with authorities and expressions of remorse for his actions.
Kazungu was found guilty of 10 charges, including murder, rape, and forgery. He was also ordered to pay damages to seven of the victims’ families.
Kazungu was arrested in September 2023 following a dispute with his landlord in Busanza, Kicukiro District. What began as a landlord-tenant disagreement turned into a chilling criminal investigation after police discovered multiple bodies buried in a pit behind his home. Most victims were women.
He later admitted to the murder charges, with investigators uncovering a disturbing pattern of premeditated violence and concealment.
During his appeal hearing on June 12, Kazungu and his lawyer, Faustin Murangwa, argued that his cooperation, such as voluntarily confessing to the crimes and providing details of the murders, should be considered a mitigating factor.
“I gave the information willingly,” Kazungu told the court. “When I remembered another victim, I alerted the authorities. What I did was cowardly. I apologize to the Head of State, the government, and the families. If I could go back, I would not take that path.”
His lawyer emphasized Kazungu’s past efforts to contribute positively to society, noting that he once ran a nursery school for orphans in Remera. After the school shut down in 2016, Kazungu turned to cross-border liquor trade but claimed he lost goods worth $120,000 in 2018, a financial downfall that, according to his testimony, drove him into criminal activity.
‘Not desperation’
However, prosecutors maintained that Kazungu’s crimes were premeditated, calculated, and carried out in a cruel manner. They described how he lured his victims, mostly women, before killing and burying them.
“This was not desperation. It was a pattern,” one prosecutor said. “Even if he admitted to the charges, that does not outweigh the horror of what he did.”
Family members of Kazungu’s victims, many of whom attended the appeal hearing, were vocal in opposing his request.
One representative said, “To suggest that Kazungu deserves a second chance is a danger to society. Apart from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, it is rare in Rwanda’s history to find one person responsible for this many killings.”
Despite Kazungu’s claims of remorse and rehabilitation, he will serve a life sentence and remain liable for financial penalties to his victims’ families.
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