Missing woman found beheaded, ex-boyfriend arrested

MUKONO - When 25-year-old Jackline Nyawedde disappeared without a trace on the evening of April 27, 2025, her family feared the worst. 

But no one in Namawojjolo village in Mukono district could have anticipated the horror that would unfold just days later: the grim discovery of her severed head inside a house and her headless body dumped in a nearby garden.
 
Police have since arrested her ex-boyfriend, Abu Muyagu, 28, and two other men in what they suspect is a ritual murder that has shocked the community and highlighted the persistent problem of violent killings. 

Police sources said Nyawedde’s killing was methodically planned. Investigators believe she may have been lured to her ex-boyfriend’s home under the guise of reconciliation or a personal matter. 

“They were no longer together, but she trusted him enough, which prompted her to go and see him,” one officer said. 

“That trust may have cost her life.” Authorities are now probing whether there was any intent to use body parts in witchcraft practices or illicit spiritual rituals — a theory not uncommon in similar past killings.

Area leaders have called on security agencies to increase patrols, especially at night, as well as crack down on unlicensed traditional healers and suspicious gatherings.

Family's desperate search  

Nyawedde’s disappearance was first reported by her older sister, Janet Logose, a 32-year-old housewife. 

She told police that Nyawedde, a casual worker, had failed to return home after leaving around 5:00pm. Her mobile phone was switched off, which was unusual and alarming. 

The last known communication from Nyawedde came from Muyagu, and fellow casual worker living in Wakiso village, just a few kilometres away.

“When we couldn’t reach her, her aunt and other relatives intensified the search,” said Charles Lwanga, the area LC2 chairperson. 

“They were combing through the villages. Nobody expected the end would be so brutal,” Lwanga said.

The discovery 

It was the digital trail that led police to Muyagu’s doorstep. After tracking Nyawedde’s phone signal, officers arrested Muyagu and searched his house. What they found inside was beyond comprehension. 

In one of the rooms, a wrapped bundle lay on the floor. When unwrapped, it revealed the decomposing head of Nyawedde, wrapped tightly in cloth. 

“In the second room, the officers recovered the victim’s mobile phone,” said Patrick Onyango, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, during a press briefing held at the Police headquarters in Naguru. 

As news of the discovery spread, furious villagers surged into nearby gardens, searching for further evidence. 

Their search led to another gruesome scene: Nyawedde’s headless body, wrapped in a sack and partially buried in a bush about 200 metres from Muyagu’s house. 

“People were crying. Others were too shocked to speak,” said a local elder who witnessed the recovery of the body. 

Police swiftly arrested Muyagu along with two other men suspected of being his accomplices: Mubarak Kizito, 34, a self-proclaimed traditional healer from Nagojje sub-county, and James Bakkabulindi, 28, another resident of Wakiso village. 

All the three men are being held at Mukono Police Station as investigators piece together what they believe may be a ritual killing, possibly linked to the recent surge in dismemberment-style murders in the country. 

“We have submitted all the recovered body parts to Mulago National Referral Hospital for forensic examination,” Onyango said. “Investigations are active, and no angle is being ruled out.”

More bodies found 

Last month recorded at least five other suspicious deaths were recorded in Waksio district, most involving blunt force trauma, strangulation or dismemberment. 

On March 30, a man identified as Joseph Ssebagala, 38, was found murdered in Kosovo zone, Salaama parish.

His skull had been crushed, and his body was soaked in blood. 

Five days earlier, another body — this time an unidentified woman, was discovered with a deep cut to her neck at the roadside in Watuba, Kasangati.