Four killed in Rakai as thuggery escalates
Jul 13, 2009
Four killed in Rakai as thuggery escalates
By Ali Mambule
in Rakai
FOUR people were murdered in three separate incidents in Rakai district over the weekend. Unidentified assailants killed two people in Kacheera sub-county on Saturday night. Two others were killed on Sunday night by a neighbour in another sub-county.
Saturday Vision reported that 66 people had been killed under unclear circumstances in Masaka, Ssembabule, Lyantonde, Rakai and Kalangala districts in the past six months.
Masaka has registered 31 murders, 13 of them in Kyanamukaka sub-county. In the night killings, which have sparked a rebel scare, the victims were butchered to death, with little or nothing being robbed from them.
In the latest murders, according to the southern-regional Police spokesperson, Noah Serunjogi, a boda-boda cyclist, Nasuru Lwakatanda of Kibaati village, was murdered and his ears cut off by the assailants who went with them.
In the second incident, Godfrey Musinguzi of Rwebihinda village, also in Kacheera sub-county, was attacked as he rode a bicycle. “The assailants emerged from a banana plantation, cut him several times and left him for dead,†Serunjogi said. Musinguzi died on the way to Masaka Hospital.
On Sunday night, a man identified as Ronald Mutumba killed two neighbours, hitting them on the head, at Kitente in Kifamba sub-county.
Local council chief Hamuza Semanda identified the dead as Zefania Kisiimwa and Beninya Nakachwa.
According to Semanda, earlier in the day, Mutumba fought at a party organised by a resident, Emmanuel Mugonza. Kisiimwa took him back home in an attempt to stop the fighting.
However, on arrival, Mutumba vented his anger on his own wife and children.
According to Kisiimwa’s wife, Rosemary Nalubowa, her husband was killed as he tried to save Mutumba’s family from the battering.
“As he opened the door to our house, my husband found Mutumba waiting for him with a hoe with which he hit him hard on the head,†Nalubowa said.
Mutumba went for another neighbour, Beninya Nakachwa, and hit her also on the head. Not yet done, Mutumba also attacked Claudio Kintu who was lucky to escape with minor injuries.
The attacker was eventually arrested by residents who handed him over to the Police.
Kifamba sub-county chairman Pius Lubega said the murders were a matter of concern. He said although residents have always drunk alcohol, they did not commit such crimes. “I beg all of you to give information to the Police to help in the investigations,†Lubega said.
Meanwhile, in Kampala, the state minister for internal affairs, Matia Kasaija and the Police spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba, dismissed reports of rebels in the region.
The murders in Masaka and neighbouring districts, Kasaija said, were being carried out by drug addicts and other criminals looking for quick money.
The minister explained that intelligence agencies had unearthed important clues regarding the criminals. He said some opportunists were trying to make political capital out of the crimes.
Addressing journalists, Nabakooba said the Police had arrested 53 suspects over the lawlessness since January. Three of the suspects were detained in connection with the Kyanamukaaka murders.
Nabakooba said the Rapid Response Unit and the directorate of crime intelligence had rushed to Masaka to conduct investigations.
She also said the Police would intensify night patrols to crack down on drunken drivers whom she blamed for causing most accidents. She, however, said the number of accidents had reduced.
Nabakooba also added that fires were on the rise and appealed to the public to stop being negligent.
She said stoves and illegal electricity connections were mainly to blame for the situation.
(Additional reporting by Anne Mugisa and Darious Magara)
in Rakai
FOUR people were murdered in three separate incidents in Rakai district over the weekend. Unidentified assailants killed two people in Kacheera sub-county on Saturday night. Two others were killed on Sunday night by a neighbour in another sub-county.
Saturday Vision reported that 66 people had been killed under unclear circumstances in Masaka, Ssembabule, Lyantonde, Rakai and Kalangala districts in the past six months.
Masaka has registered 31 murders, 13 of them in Kyanamukaka sub-county. In the night killings, which have sparked a rebel scare, the victims were butchered to death, with little or nothing being robbed from them.
In the latest murders, according to the southern-regional Police spokesperson, Noah Serunjogi, a boda-boda cyclist, Nasuru Lwakatanda of Kibaati village, was murdered and his ears cut off by the assailants who went with them.
In the second incident, Godfrey Musinguzi of Rwebihinda village, also in Kacheera sub-county, was attacked as he rode a bicycle. “The assailants emerged from a banana plantation, cut him several times and left him for dead,†Serunjogi said. Musinguzi died on the way to Masaka Hospital.
On Sunday night, a man identified as Ronald Mutumba killed two neighbours, hitting them on the head, at Kitente in Kifamba sub-county.
Local council chief Hamuza Semanda identified the dead as Zefania Kisiimwa and Beninya Nakachwa.
According to Semanda, earlier in the day, Mutumba fought at a party organised by a resident, Emmanuel Mugonza. Kisiimwa took him back home in an attempt to stop the fighting.
However, on arrival, Mutumba vented his anger on his own wife and children.
According to Kisiimwa’s wife, Rosemary Nalubowa, her husband was killed as he tried to save Mutumba’s family from the battering.
“As he opened the door to our house, my husband found Mutumba waiting for him with a hoe with which he hit him hard on the head,†Nalubowa said.
Mutumba went for another neighbour, Beninya Nakachwa, and hit her also on the head. Not yet done, Mutumba also attacked Claudio Kintu who was lucky to escape with minor injuries.
The attacker was eventually arrested by residents who handed him over to the Police.
Kifamba sub-county chairman Pius Lubega said the murders were a matter of concern. He said although residents have always drunk alcohol, they did not commit such crimes. “I beg all of you to give information to the Police to help in the investigations,†Lubega said.
Meanwhile, in Kampala, the state minister for internal affairs, Matia Kasaija and the Police spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba, dismissed reports of rebels in the region.
The murders in Masaka and neighbouring districts, Kasaija said, were being carried out by drug addicts and other criminals looking for quick money.
The minister explained that intelligence agencies had unearthed important clues regarding the criminals. He said some opportunists were trying to make political capital out of the crimes.
Addressing journalists, Nabakooba said the Police had arrested 53 suspects over the lawlessness since January. Three of the suspects were detained in connection with the Kyanamukaaka murders.
Nabakooba said the Rapid Response Unit and the directorate of crime intelligence had rushed to Masaka to conduct investigations.
She also said the Police would intensify night patrols to crack down on drunken drivers whom she blamed for causing most accidents. She, however, said the number of accidents had reduced.
Nabakooba also added that fires were on the rise and appealed to the public to stop being negligent.
She said stoves and illegal electricity connections were mainly to blame for the situation.
(Additional reporting by Anne Mugisa and Darious Magara)