A suspended Catholic priest, Rev. Fr Dominic Alinga, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of former Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) officer John Bosco Ngorok and the attempted murder of Moses Abigaba.
According to chief state attorney Jacquelyn Okui, Alinga was sentenced on Friday, a day after pleading guilty to the two charges before the High court in Entebbe. Alinga, formerly attached to Iriiri parish in Napak district, was charged in October 2024 with the murder of Ngorok and the attempted murder of Abigaba.
The charges stemmed from an incident on August 2, 2024, when Alinga, believing that Ngorok had exposed information that led to his suspension from the priesthood, lured him to a meeting.
Prosecutors said that while travelling together towards Entebbe, Alinga attacked and repeatedly stabbed Ngorok. As Ngorok attempted to seek help with the assistance of Abigaba, Alinga allegedly knocked both men down with his vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Ngorok, who was 30, later succumbed to his injuries. According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Alinga then attempted to conceal evidence before fleeing to Tororo, where he later confessed to a fellow priest and surrendered to police.
A statement from the DPP said that on July 23, 2026, Alinga appeared before Justice Flavia Nabakooza, pleaded guilty to both charges when they were read to him and was subsequently convicted.
He was sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment for murder and 10 years for attempted murder, with the sentences to run concurrently. Court also awarded compensation to Abigaba. Janet Kitimbo, the resident state attorney for Entebbe, represented the Office of the DPP.
The DPP also commended the prosecutors and investigators who handled the case, saying their efforts were instrumental in securing the conviction. Police investigations at the time indicated that Alinga had been suspended from the priesthood over allegations of misappropriating offertory collections worth Shs 6 million.
Following the incident, a recorded statement by Alinga circulated widely on social media, in which he gave a different account of what transpired. In the recording, Alinga admitted meeting Ngorok in Entebbe over a land transaction, claiming the money Ngorok produced was counterfeit, leading to a disagreement.
He alleged that Ngorok became violent and threatened him with a knife inside the vehicle, and that during the ensuing struggle, Ngorok accidentally stabbed himself.
Alinga maintained at the time that he had acted in self-defence. However, after spending nearly two years on remand awaiting trial, the suspended priest abandoned that defence and this week pleaded guilty to both offences, paving the way for his conviction and sentencing.