The foreign affairs ministry has written to Kenya asking them to expedite the ongoing investigations surrounding the death of Dr Gideon Wamasebu following the recovery of a body buried in a shallow grave at Malava in Kakamega County.

Ministry permanent secretary Vincent Waiswa Bagiire on Tuesday confirmed that they had written to Kenya urging them to expedite the investigations so that the body could be brought back for burial.

In a note seen by New Vision, the ministry says: “The government of Uganda appreciates the efforts of the relevant Kenyan authorities, which led to the location and recovery of the body in Malava, Kakamega County on Monday, February 13, 2023, suspected to be that of Wamasebu, the ongoing investigation into the unfortunate incident and the need to conduct DNA as part of the inquiry”. 

The statement adds: “The mission has the honour to request that in view of the stressful circumstances surrounding Dr Wamasebu’s death, it will be highly appreciated if the envisaged tests are conducted expeditiously and the body handed over as soon as possible to enable the family to conclude the necessary burial arrangements”. 

Yesterday, the family, in a statement, said they would wait for DNA results before drawing firm conclusions. A postmortem was carried out on Monday evening with Kenya indicating that the DNA test results to confirm whether the body was his and would be ready in two days.

The former Manafwa district health officer went missing from his home after he reportedly told his family he was going for a business deal.

Family statement

In a statement released Tuesday by Wamasebu’s nephew, Vision Group Chief Executive Officer, Don Wanyama, and his daughter, Christine Simiyu, the family said on February 6, 2023, the doctor left his home in Mbale town indicating he was going for a business trip.

 “On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, several family members received distress messages from his phone indicating he had been kidnapped and was being held in Kenya. The messages were also seeking a ransom for him to be set free,” the family said.

The statement added that the family immediately informed the Uganda Police Force, which began investigations.

“They got in touch with their Kenyan counterparts and several arrests were made. On Monday, February 13, following certain leads, some family members, accompanied by both Uganda and Kenyan Police, visited a site in Malava, Kakamega County where it is thought Wamasebu could have been killed.”

"A body was retrieved and both Kenya and Ugandan medical personnel are conducting extensive tests to ascertain the identity of the body. We have been advised to await the results before drawing firm conclusions,” the family said.

The family added that in the meantime, Kenyan and Ugandan security continues with the investigation.

“As a family, we thank all of you who have reached out to us in what is an obviously trying time. We shall keep you posted on the way forward in due course, Kindly keep us in your prayers," the statement reads.

On Sunday, Kakamega North sub-county Police commander Paul Mwendwa told Kenyan media that a suspect had been arrested on suspicion of murdering the doctor.

He said homicide detectives and officials from the Ugandan embassy in Kenya travelled to Kimanget village in Malava constituency to witness the exhumation of a body that had been buried secretly in a rural home by the murder suspect.

“The investigations have been taken over by homicide detectives from the DCI to witness the body being exhumed and carry out investigations to establish whether the body belongs to the missing doctor,” Mwendwa said.

“We will give a briefing after the body has been exhumed and identified. Our officers are currently guarding the scene in Kimanget village,” Mwendwa said.

A relative of the doctor said the suspect in custody was well known to the medic and had visited his home in Uganda on several occasions.

“We are still in the dark about what happened. We have no details on why my uncle travelled to Kenya and what his mission was,” his nephew, Kennedy Wamasebu said.