By Wilfred Lamony

For the love of a dog, his uncle had to die. 26-year old Sunday Okello is under police holding for allegedly killing his uncle, who is said to have poisoned his dog.

Okello was arrested for spearing his uncle, Geoffrey Ocaya dead on Saturday.

At about 9.30pm Saturday evening, the Gulu Officer-in-Charge, CID received a desperate call from a resident of Lakwati village, Koro sub-county in Gulu district.

Officer John Bosco Ojele explains that the late evening caller, gasping between his breaths, spoke of a man in the village who had been spiked dead by his nephew and that the attacker had later turned ‘wild and violent’ in the village.

Thirty minutes later, Ojele reached the scene of crime and found Ocaya’s body soaked in a pool of blood beside the road. The victim’s shoes and a blood-dripping spear lay just beside the lifeless form. In the dead man’s back, there was a massive wound, very likely caused by the spear.

Locals present at the scene claimed that the deceased was speared by his nephew [Okello] following a brawl between the two over the latter’s dead dog.

Okello accused his uncle of poisoning to death his dog a month back.

Since the death of the dog, Okello had promised to slay his uncle, the residents say.

The fatal incident prompted the police to mount a search for Okello, who was at large. The fugitive was smoked out of his hiding at about 4pm on Sunday.

Ojele says the police search team found Okello with four knives and wounds in his back. The wounds suggested that he had a fight with his uncle before overpowering and stabbing him to death.

One of the locals said he saw Okello and his uncle drinking together in a bar at Abole trading centre on the evening of the crime. He told of how the two later engaged in a fight which might have led to the fatal event.

According to officer Ojele, Okello is said to have gone ahead after the killing and set Ocaya’s house on fire. Ocaya’s body was taken to Gulu Central Police station as a first step towards a possible autopsy.