Ritual murder in Kampala

Dec 26, 2006

A man carrying a freshly chopped head of a human being narrowly survived death at the hands of an angry mob in a suburb of Kampala.

By Steven Candia and Flavia Nakagwa

A man carrying a freshly chopped head of a human being narrowly survived death at the hands of an angry mob in a suburb of Kampala.

The bizarre incident took place on Christmas evening at a shrine in Katwe, Salaama Parish.

According to the Police, Peter Mukisa turned up at the shrine with a head carefully wrapped in a bag. He asked to see the traditional healer, Aisha Nalumansi, in order to be cleansed.

The healer declined to give him an audience, saying it was too late.

The visitor insisted, saying he had a problem. He then revealed the content of the bag, terrifying the healer who sent him away and immediately raised an alarm.

Responding to the distress call, residents gave chase, caught up with Mukisa and pounced on him with all sorts of weapons.

He was only saved by the intervention of a Police unit on patrol, who rescued him from the riled residents and rushed him to Mulago Hospital. By yesterday afternoon, Mukisa was still in hospital, guarded by a plainclothes detective. The Police said five other suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident, which it called a ritual murder.

“Mukisa claimed he had been sent by some people for a human head because of some land and building issues,” Kampala Police chief Grace Turyagumanawe explained.

Meanwhile, the Police have identified the beheaded victim as Sura Awori, a herdsman staying at the residence of Mama Mercy in Buziga, Kampala. How and where the suspect chopped off the victim’s head is still a subject of Police investigation.

According to Turyagumanawe, Mukisa had led them on Monday night to Buziga Hill, where they recovered the rest of the body in a trench, concealed with leaves.

“Mukisa led us to the place as well as to the other suspects now in our custody,” Turyagumanawe said, but he declined to disclose their identities.

Reports received so far by the Police indicate that a total of five people were killed country-wide over the festive season.

A suspected criminal, only identified as Opio, was shot dead on Christmas Day in a failed bid to escape from a burglary in Bweyogerere, a Kampala suburb.
Another suspected burglar died on the way to hospital after he was roughed up by residents in Nansana, a city suburb.

In Masaka, a man kicked his wife to death for failing to prepare a Christmas meal for the family, while in Gulu a man was beaten to death when attempting to collect a debt from a kiosk owner.

Another five people died in road accidents in Kasese and Mbarara on the evening of Christmas Day, while two people died in Mityana due to over-consumption of alcohol.

(Additional reporting by John Nzinjah, Eddie
Sejjoba, Luke Kagiri,
Dennis Ojwee and Kyomuhendo Muhanga)

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