I left her safe, returned to silence: Mother’s anguish After Mubende teen slain

MUBENDE - In Mubende district's Nakigando East village, the sound of heavy rain is usually a comfort, a sign of fertile gardens and cooler air.

However, for one mother, the August 12, 2025, downpour will forever carry the weight of unbearable loss.

She left home at about 3:30pm to visit her father-in-law, leaving her 16-year-old daughter, Juliet Nalubombwe, inside.

The rain began soon after. She felt no urgency; Nalubombwe was safe indoors, and the path back home was familiar.

But when she returned, the rhythmic beat of the rain was replaced by a silence so heavy it made her pause. Inside, she found her daughter sprawled on the floor, her body soaked in blood, her life brutally cut short.

In a statement released Wednesday, August 13, 2025, Wamala region Police spokesperson Racheal Kawala said Nalubombwe had been raped and killed by an intruder who struck during the storm, slicing her neck before fleeing into the rain.

“She (the mother) reported to Police after she returned and found the body in the pool of blood,” reads Kawala’s statement.

Kawala, says the Police have vowed to bring the perpetrator to justice, calling the attack “heartbreaking and deeply disturbing.”

She urged anyone who saw or heard anything unusual during the storm to report it immediately. 

Murders rise countrywide

According to the 2024 Annual Crime Report, a total of 1,667 cases of rape were reported to the Police in 2024, compared to 1,577 cases reported in 2023, giving an increase of 5.7%.  

There was a 2% general increase in the murders registered by the Police countrywide.

This was attributed by a 19% increase in murders through assault, a 15% increase in murders by strangulation, an 18% increase in murders by hacking and a 2% increase in murders by stabbing, as shown in the table below.