By Madinah Tebajjukira

THE Police have identified the city tycoon wanted for the gruesome ritual murder of a 12-year-old boy in Masaka as Godfrey Kato Kajubi.

The now fugitive Kajubi hired a traditional healer, Umaru Katereregga, 27, alias Bosco and his Tanzanian wife Mariam Nabukeera, 21, to kill Joseph Kasirye for ritual purposes, the Police said yesterday.

In a statement they wrote at the Masaka Central Police Station on October 19, the couple said they beheaded Kasirye on the request of Kajubi.

Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba yesterday said anyone with information that could lead to Kajubi’s arrest should call telephone numbers 0714667872, 0714667873, 0714667878, 0714667877 and 0772696886.

Kajubi, Nabakooba added, runs businesses and owns homes in several places such as Masaka, Jinja and in Kampala suburbs of Kalerwe, Makindye, Salaama and Wandegeya, she said.

She added that Kajubi owns a hostel in Makerere Kikoni, property in London and was once a cigarette dealer.

“He is a local and international businessman. He is on the run, but we appeal to everybody with key information to contact the Police,” said Nabakooba.

The Police yesterday said Kasirye’s body parts were buried in a city mansion which Kajubi is constructing.

The murder of Kasirye, a son of Joseph Matovu, a neighbour to Kateregga, took place at Kayugi village, Katwadde parish, Mukungwe sub-county, Masaka district. The couple was promised sh12m, but Kajubi paid them just sh350,000, and promised to pay the rest if they provided another three human heads. However, the Police moved in on them before they could execute their macabre assignment.

The suspects were charged last Monday before the Masaka Chief Magistrate Court and remanded to Masaka Prison.

The prosecutor said the accused and others still on the run, kidnapped Kasirye, killed him and cut off his head and genitals which they sold to Kajubi. The case will come up for mention in the High Court on December 12.

The cases of ritual murder appear to be rampant.

Sunday Vision reported how a city mason saw a ritual murder of a girl in June 2006 by a prominent city businessman.

The seven-year-old girl, clutching a doll and wearing a white dress, was dropped into the pit in the standing position. She was buried alive when a man shovelled concrete into a pit, the mason added.

“The child screamed about three times and then stopped.”

The rich man owns several buildings in the city and its suburbs, and is well known in business circles.

He has recently been at the centre of serious ownership wrangles involving several prime plots in the city.

According to the 2007 Police crime report, 230 children fell prey to criminals.

Of these 108, were abducted, 13 kidnapped, 54 mysteriously disappeared and about 56 were stolen.

Four children were murdered. The Police rescued 44, but the fate of 130 children is unknown.

Most cases occurred in Mityana, Katwe, Jinja, Masaka, Kira Road in Kampala, Masindi and Tororo districts.

The report said some children were used in ritual sacrifice and others for sexual exploitation.