Ex-Jinja city education officer arrested over suspected human sacrifice

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Embattled former Jinja city education officer Amina Mutesi has been arrested on suspicion of human sacrifice.

Reports indicate that Mutesi, who is currently out of active service due to allegations of mismanagement of Universal Primary Education (UPE) funds in the city, was detained in connection with the ritual murder of a 26-year-old woman named Jessica Mutesi.

The incident is reported to have occurred at Amina’s upcountry homestead, located in the Nyenga division of Njeru municipality in Buikwe district, in April 2025.

James Mubi, the Kiira region Police spokesperson on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, confirmed Amina’s detention at Nalufenya Police Station located in Jinja City.

She is believed to have been under custody since Saturday.

She is alleged to have confided in a casual worker to assist her in finding a human being for sacrifice to settle her case and eventually repossess her job, which she had already lost to someone else.

Police stated that the casual worker approached his colleague after Amina promised a ransom deal of shillings three million in case they brought her a human being to accomplish her mission.

The duo, with an advance of shillings 500,000 accepted and went ahead to get in touch with Jessica, who was yearning for employment and allegedly hoodwinked her for a house-help job.

After being convinced, they allegedly sent her transport money, and she subsequently travelled and met the duo in Njeru, Buikwe district.

They would take her to Amina’s residence, from where she allocated her a room in her boys’ quarters, meanwhile, the dual also spent a night at the premises.

However, during Jessica’s second night, she was allegedly strangled to death and stealthily buried behind Amina’s pit latrine.

Even after accomplishing the mission, Mubi said the duo kept demanding the then-education officer their remaining balance of shillings 2.5 million in vain.

However, the Police explained that in mid-May 2025, Jessica’s family members got information that she had been kidnapped and held hostage until they sent a ransom for her to be released.

Without revealing the amount of the ransom, Mubi said this prompted the family to report a case of kidnap at Walukuba Police Station where full-scale investigations commenced leading to intensified tracking and arrests.

Amina’s troubles came to light when the key suspects, after being apprehended, confessed how she lured them into the mission with what they described as a lucrative deal of three million shillings, which she never fully paid.

Sources have intimated that the two men were arrested by the Police Flying Squad Unit and are currently being detained at a different location.

Being located in a different jurisdiction, Mubi stated that the Kiira region Police are in the process of transferring them to the Njeru Police for further handling, as the alleged murder took place in the Sezibwa region, which operates as an independent police entity.

The Police have assured the public of their commitment to providing full protection and support in apprehending individuals who view human beings as sacrificial objects.

“We are enhancing comprehensive community approach in addressing and preventing human ritual sacrifices to have a peaceful society,” he said.

Amina's woes

Amina's woes began in July 2022 when she allegedly abused her authority by irregularly ordering head teachers from several government-aided schools to divert about shillings 1.4 billion Universal Primary Education capitation grants for other activities and personal gains.

She, together with two other officials, kept reporting at the CIID headquarters until their eventual arraignment before Grade One magistrate Christopher Opit of the Anti-Corruption Court, who later released them on bond late last year.

Before this case is resolved, the law has caught up with Amina in another matter. If she is found guilty, it could be classified as murder or manslaughter, which carries a potential life imprisonment or death penalty sentence.