16-year-old Masaka student strangled, body dumped along Bukakata Road
Twaha Kasirye, the Public Relations Officer for Masaka East and West, in a statement issued on August 11, said the case also bears signs of sexual assault.
Twaha Kasirye, the Public Relations Officer for Masaka East and West said investigations are still ongoing. (File photo)
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Police in Masaka are searching for suspected killers after a 16-year-old student at Masaka Secondary School was found strangled and her body dumped along the Nyendo–Kako–Bukakata Road.
Twaha Kasirye, the Public Relations Officer for Masaka East and West, in a statement issued on August 11, said the case also bears signs of sexual assault.
"The victim, Rayat Nakato Nassali, left home on the morning of August 9 to collect mock exam papers. She later told her twin sister she was headed to Nabugabo Beach and never returned. Her body was discovered the following morning, August 10, with rope marks and bruising consistent with strangulation," Kasirye said.
Homicide and scene-of-crime officers examined the location where the body was dumped before it was taken to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital for a postmortem. Detectives are now working hard to trace the suspected killers. "Investigations are still ongoing," said Kasirye.
In a similar case, Police in Bwera Division are hunting for unknown assailants after the body of 24-year-old Micheal Mbusa, a pupil at Nyakahya Primary School, was retrieved from River Mpondwe with strangulation marks.
Mbusa, a resident of Kyambogho Cell, Mpondwe Lhubiriha Town Council, was reported missing by his brother-in-law, Deogracious Masereka, after he failed to return home on the evening of August 10.
A search turned up nothing until the next day, when locals alerted police to a body floating in the river, said Elly Maate, the Police Publicist for Rwenzori East.
"Inquiries are still ongoing and efforts to get those involved are being made so that they are brought to book," Maate said.
Murder statistics
According to the 2025 annual crime report released last week, police recorded 4,238 homicide cases in 2025, a slight decrease from 4,329 cases reported in 2024.
The victims included 3,397 adult males, 550 adult females, 173 male juveniles, and 148 female juveniles. Of these, 338 victims were killed through hacking, compared to 310 in 2024.
An analysis of data indicates that the motives behind these killings largely stemmed from land disputes, domestic violence, acts of mob justice, family misunderstandings, crimes of passion and business rivalries.