Dr. Mathew Kirabo, a fugitive convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Desire Mirembe, in 2015, has been arrested in Nairobi by Interpol, nearly a year after his conviction.
The arrest marks a significant development in a case that had seen Kirabo evade capture despite being convicted in absentia by the Mukono High Court in May 2022.
The arrest of Dr. Mathew Kirabo was confirmed by a security source, who provided limited details, stating that further information would be provided on the following day.
On May 30, 2022, Kirabo was convicted of the murder of Desire Mirembe in absentia by Mukono High Court Judge Henry Kaweesa. The court assessors had recommended his guilty verdict, and the judge planned to issue the sentence once Kirabo was arrested.
Background
Desire Mirembe, a student at Makerere University Medical School, went missing in July 2015 after leaving her hostel to meet her boyfriend, Kirabo. Her body was later discovered in a sugarcane plantation in Jinja on July 7, 2015. Kirabo, who initially confessed to the murder, took investigators to the crime scene, reconstructed the events, and explained how he had strangled and fatally injured her with a surgical blade.
Kirabo was charged with murder at the Jinja Magistrates Court and was later granted bail in November 2016. The case was moved to Mukono High Court, and in May 2021, Kirabo sought to retrieve his passport for travel to the US for further studies, leading to public outrage. Following intervention from Col. Edith Nakalema, the trial resumed but faced delays, with Kirabo eventually skipping court in October. He was reported to have fled the country in November 2021, and his arrest warrant remained in effect.
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The arrest of Dr. Mathew Kirabo in Nairobi after evading capture for almost a year represents a significant development in a case marked by legal twists and evasion. The conviction and subsequent capture underscore the pursuit of justice in a high-profile murder case.
