Man arrested for sacrificing own child
Feb 14, 2013
The Police in Katwe have arrested a man who abducted his own child for ritual sacrifice.
By Ronald Mubiru
The Police in Katwe have arrested a man who abducted his own child for ritual sacrifice.
The two-months old boy, Akram, whose dismembered body was discovered in a bush two days after his disappearance, was abducted on the night of December 8, 2011.
The suspect, Ali Mugerwa, of Masajja B Kibira Zone was arrested with the help of a local NGO, Kyampisi Childcare Minisitries on Wednesday morning as he strolled through the suburb of Katwe, more than a year of being on the run.
On the fateful day, Mugerwa doused his wife with chloroform before abducting the toddler in the dead of the night.
"That man had always asked for the child claiming he wanted to take him to his grandparents but i refused because he was so young," Claire Kyalisiima, the child's mother, narrated.
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Claire (centre) stands in front of the house from which her son was abducted in 2011
On the fateful night, Mugerwa, a bodaboda cyclist operating at 'Kalitunsi' stage, abducted the toddler while the mother was unconscious, and vanished into the night.
Claire says she woke up at 3.00am when no one was in the house and she had been locked in with a padlock. She says in the morning she raised an alarm that attracted residents who embarked on a man-hunt for the child and his father.
As fate would have it, two days later residents discovered what was identified as Akram's remains in a bush. His tongue had been ripped out and private parts severed off.
After his arrest, Mugerwa first told police that on the fateful night the little boy had died in his arms as he rushed him to a clinic after he caught an abrupt fever. He said he had dumped the body and fled because he was scared.
However after further grilling he confessed that he had taken the child to a witchdoctor for ritual sacrifice so that he could amass wealth. He also failed to reveal the identity of the witchdoctor.
The criminal investigations boss Katwe Police, Herbert Wanyoto, said Mugerwa was charged with murder on file number CRV 8125/2011 as investigations go on.