Onebe murder case: Detective reveals tactics employed in investigating the case

By Farooq Kasule, Michael Odeng and Babra Kabahumuza

KAMPALA - Police detective has revealed that they zeroed in on Francis Onebe in the murder case of his wife after he attempted to fly out of the country in the middle of the investigations without informing them.

Onebe and security guard Bonny Oriekot are facing trial over the gruesome murder of his wife Mary Immaculate Aiso.

Testifying in the matter at the Criminal Division of the High Court in Kampala today, Nobert Ochom, 44, revealed that they employed human intelligence to investigate the case.

“After this file was transferred from Kabalagala Police station to Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), we invited Onebe for an interaction. We then deployed human intelligence to monitor him, and that is why we were able to succeed in getting to the bottom of this case,” Ochom said.

He said CID headquarters took over the matter after a complaint was lodged before it.

“After the file was transferred to CID, I was asked by my boss, Monday Agaba, to head the team to handle the file. I read the file to identify new things. We later invited Onebe for interaction. We told him that we were going to broaden the investigations and he should not leave the country without informing us,” Ochom said.

Ochom said when Onebe attempted to fly out of the country via Nairobi to the UK without notifying them, it served as an eye-opener to them.

“We arrested him, and we embarked on investigating him because we became suspicious of his conduct,” Ochom said.

High Court Judge Prof. Andrew Khaukha is presiding over the trial after Justice Micheal Elubu withdrew from the matter.

“We detained him, and on September 8, 202,1 we conducted a search at his home located at Munyonyo, Makindye Division in Kampala city,” Ochom said.

Ochom revealed that it was Onebe who led them to his home. “When we reached there, he (Onebe) knocked on the gate, and the security guard opened for us.

When we entered, we scanned around the compound, and I saw two vehicles (a Range Rover and a white double cabin), a vegetable garden and a new structure that was under constructio,n which Onebe told me was a kitchen,” Ochom said.

Ochom, formerly attached to the homicide department at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) in Kibuli, further revealed that there was a pile of timber placed on the iron-roofed shade of the house. He testified under the guidance of Chief State Attorney Sherifah Nalwanga.

“We entered the house and checked all corners, but we found nothing useful to the case. I then asked Onebe what was under the pile of timber. He told us that there was a septic tank,” Ochom said.

Ochom said he then requested that the pile of timber be removed so that they could observe inside the septic tank.

“When it was removed, I torched the septic tank, and I saw a decomposing body floating. I told Onebe to look down, and he confirmed that the body was that of his wife.

He started crying,” Ochom said.

Ochom said they consequently embarked on retrieving the body from the septic tank.

“The body had a black wig on the head, a sack with green stripes with a binding wire tied around the sack and the other part was tied on the neck of the deceased,” Ochom said.

Ochom said the flesh covering the deceased’s head was missing, and part of the head had been crushed.

“I later handed over the body to detective Omoding, the division scene of crime officer to convey it to the city mortuary for postmortem,” Ochom said.

After retrieving the body, Ochom said they conducted a second search at Onebe’s home.

“They discovered new paint on the wall and seat covers had been changed. When we went to the bedroom, it was dusty and looked deserted,” Ochom said.