DNA shows businessman Rugari fathered dead child

KAMPALA - A DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis has confirmed that the deceased two-and-a-half-year-old boy at the centre of a high-profile paternity and custody dispute was the biological son of honorary consul and businessman Chris Rugari. 

Rugari, who serves as Zimbabwe’s honorary consul to Uganda, has been locked in a bitter divorce and paternity row with his estranged wife, Joline Mutesi Dusabe, who was rearrested over the weekend (Saturday) following forensic revelations into the baby’s suspicious death. 

The confirmation was made by a family member who spoke to New Vision on condition of anonymity, revealing that the DNA results validated Rugari as the child’s biological father. 

“The baby died ahead of a scheduled DNA test linked to a custody dispute between the parents,” the source added.

Police have since intensified investigations into the toddler’s death, which occurred on April 2, a day after he allegedly fell from the second floor of their home in Mutungo Zone 8, Nakawa division in Kampala. 

Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire confirmed that Dusabe, 40, was initially arrested and released on bond but was rearrested following post-mortem findings that revealed internal injuries inconsistent with a simple fall. 

“The child’s body showed no external trauma or visible injuries despite the fall, prompting deeper suspicion,” Owoyesigyire said. 

Police said the child, Rugari Nganwa, was pronounced dead on arrival at Kitintale Hospital, where Dusabe claimed to have rushed him after finding him unwell on the morning of April 2, 2025. 

According to her statement to Police, Dusabe said the child fell from an open window on the evening of April 1, after reportedly climbing and jumping through it. 

She claimed she later found him breathing heavily with a high fever the next morning and sought medical attention. However, the baby died shortly after. 

Family members from Rugari’s side have disputed her account, questioning how a child could fall from such a height without visible injury. 

“We suspect foul play. The child’s bones were intact — no swelling, no bleeding, no scratches — that’s not consistent with a fall from a two-storey building,” a relative said.

The casket containing the remains of Nganwa at his father Chris Rugari’s ancestral home in Ryakarimira town council, Kabale district.

Window bolts too high for a toddler 

Further inconsistencies have emerged. Relatives who visited the home say the window bolts through which Dusabe alleges the child exited are located at a height too far above the reach of a toddler. 

“For a child to open that window, they would need assistance or something to climb on,” the family member said. 

They also questioned how the child’s body ended up in the middle of the compound, far from the building — suggesting he may have been moved or thrown.

Tensions over paternity 

The child’s death occurred amid ongoing divorce proceedings between Dusabe and Rugari, who had vowed to take custody of every child the DNA results proved was his.
 
The family court in Makindye had ordered DNA tests after Rugari doubted the paternity of some of their five children. 

He had already tested three — two of whom turned out not to be his — and had filed for custody and further DNA testing of the remaining two children, including the deceased toddler. 

Sources say Rugari had since moved out of their matrimonial home and was staying with the one child confirmed to be his biological son. The contested children had been relocated from the home pending further court proceedings.

Crime scene reconstruction 

Police have since revisited the scene in Mutungo with the suspect to reconstruct the alleged accident and are continuing to gather evidence. 

The child’s housemaid has also been questioned, although her identity remains undisclosed. 

Investigators are working with forensic experts to determine the exact cause of death. While overall crime rates in Uganda dropped by 4.1% in 2024, child-related deaths and abuse remain a serious concern, with over 9,400 cases reported last year alone.