The Honorary Consul of Syria in Kampala, Tamouh Moustafa, on Thursday said the chance not to face the death penalty for a Ugandan housemaid, who allegedly killed her employer in Damascus, is higher.
Vicky Ajok allegedly attacked and killed her employer, 87-year-old actress Huda Shaarawi on January 29, 2026.
Syrian authorities reportedly said that Ajok is scheduled to face capital punishment on February 28.
However, details surrounding the legal proceedings, including access to legal representation and diplomatic intervention efforts, remain limited.
By early February, a Damascus criminal court had already handed down a death sentence – a timeline that Amnesty International and others warn left virtually no room for due process.
With fewer than five days before a scheduled execution, Ugandan officials, NGOs, and international rights groups are mounting a frantic, largely unanswered appeal to Syrian authorities to spare the life of Ajok.
Tamouh said “The chances are high that the suspect will not face the death penalty”.
He dismissed social media posts circulating a false execution date as wrong and clarified that Ajok has appeared in court once since her arrest.
The speed of Ajok’s journey from arrest to death row has itself become a focal point for human rights advocates.
The conviction rested heavily on a televised confession, broadcast on Syrian state television, in which Ajok – hands shackled, barefoot during a subsequent police reenactment.
Syrian authorities also cited forensic evidence and what prosecutors characterised as a deliberate attempt to flee the scene as proof of premeditation.
Presiding Judge Ahmed al-Khalil, according to Syrian state media, dismissed Ajok’s abuse claims as unsubstantiated and described her actions as “a heinous betrayal of trust.”
MG/as/APA