Man hacks five to death in Kyenjojo
Dec 02, 2009
SHOCK gripped Nyamyezi and Kaitabigere villages in Nyankwanzi sub-county, Kyenjojo district, after a young man hacked to death five people, including his father and stepmother, on Tuesday evening.
By Ismael Kasooha
SHOCK gripped Nyamyezi and Kaitabigere villages in Nyankwanzi sub-county, Kyenjojo district, after a young man hacked to death five people, including his father and stepmother, on Tuesday evening.
The suspect, Nazaliya Tulihohabwe, 22, first went to his ancestral home in Kaitabigere where he slit the neck of his 75-year-old father, Vincent Ekwe, and cut open the abdomen of his stepmother, Priscilla Kyomuhendo, 35, according to the Police and the village chairman.
He then went to the neigbouring village of Nyamyezi and murdered Harriet Kabatoro, 35, and her teenage sons, Kenneth Ahebwa, 16, and Julius Tumuhimbise, 14.
The body of the old man was discovered on a bench at the entrance of a mud- and-wattle house. He was holding a rosary in his right hand. Residents who thronged the home remarked: “He was praying to God at the time of the murder.â€
His wife, Kyomuhendo, was picked in a nearby bush a few meters from the main house, bleeding profusely.
Kyomuhendo died later at Kyamutunzi trading centre as residents were rushing her to Kagadi hospital.
Ahebwa, one of the children in the neigbouring village, told residents just before he died that the attacker broke into their house and started hacking their mother with a panga.
He added that as they tried to rescue their mother, the assailant stabbed him in the chest and severely cut his brother, killing him instantly.
The wounded boy tried to run away but he fell in the courtyard where he was picked by residents. He died before receiving medical attention. The suspect is still at large.
Kyenjojo acting district Police commander Vincent Ekwe said the postmortem report indicated that all five people died of excessive bleeding. He added that it was the most gruesome incident ever recorded in the area.
The prime suspect, Nazaliya Tulihohabwe, alias Ismael, a resident of Hoima, reportedly returned to his ancestral home with the intention to kill.
“Such a horror has never befallen this area. Everybody is just mourning the killing of five people at a go in a single parish,†said Yunusu Rusengura, a councilor for Kyamutunzi parish in Nyankwanzi.
Joseph Kalinda, the chairman of the village, said he had on several occasions resolved disputes between the father and his son, especially regarding land.
He said the old man gave a portion of his land to his son to settle the wrangles but the son later handed it back to him in exchange for money.
According to Kalinda, the father had also given his son a cow that belonged to his late mother but he demanded for a share of his father’s estate instead.
Tulihohabwe is a Primary Five drop-out. He had left his father’s home and settled in Masindi as a casual labourer. He has no permanent home and is not married.
Rusengura said the young man was known to be a habitual criminal and a drug addict.
It is not known why he killed the family in the neigbouring village. Harriet Kabatoro was a widow, heading a family of seven people after her husband died early last year.
After the murder of the mother and the two oldest sons, the family is now headed by 12-year-old Alex Akampulira. He has to look after his three siblings of nine, six and three years.
Last year, the Police in their annual crime report stated that murder cases had increased to 2,753, up from 1,927 in 2007.
SHOCK gripped Nyamyezi and Kaitabigere villages in Nyankwanzi sub-county, Kyenjojo district, after a young man hacked to death five people, including his father and stepmother, on Tuesday evening.
The suspect, Nazaliya Tulihohabwe, 22, first went to his ancestral home in Kaitabigere where he slit the neck of his 75-year-old father, Vincent Ekwe, and cut open the abdomen of his stepmother, Priscilla Kyomuhendo, 35, according to the Police and the village chairman.
He then went to the neigbouring village of Nyamyezi and murdered Harriet Kabatoro, 35, and her teenage sons, Kenneth Ahebwa, 16, and Julius Tumuhimbise, 14.
The body of the old man was discovered on a bench at the entrance of a mud- and-wattle house. He was holding a rosary in his right hand. Residents who thronged the home remarked: “He was praying to God at the time of the murder.â€
His wife, Kyomuhendo, was picked in a nearby bush a few meters from the main house, bleeding profusely.
Kyomuhendo died later at Kyamutunzi trading centre as residents were rushing her to Kagadi hospital.
Ahebwa, one of the children in the neigbouring village, told residents just before he died that the attacker broke into their house and started hacking their mother with a panga.
He added that as they tried to rescue their mother, the assailant stabbed him in the chest and severely cut his brother, killing him instantly.
The wounded boy tried to run away but he fell in the courtyard where he was picked by residents. He died before receiving medical attention. The suspect is still at large.
Kyenjojo acting district Police commander Vincent Ekwe said the postmortem report indicated that all five people died of excessive bleeding. He added that it was the most gruesome incident ever recorded in the area.
The prime suspect, Nazaliya Tulihohabwe, alias Ismael, a resident of Hoima, reportedly returned to his ancestral home with the intention to kill.
“Such a horror has never befallen this area. Everybody is just mourning the killing of five people at a go in a single parish,†said Yunusu Rusengura, a councilor for Kyamutunzi parish in Nyankwanzi.
Joseph Kalinda, the chairman of the village, said he had on several occasions resolved disputes between the father and his son, especially regarding land.
He said the old man gave a portion of his land to his son to settle the wrangles but the son later handed it back to him in exchange for money.
According to Kalinda, the father had also given his son a cow that belonged to his late mother but he demanded for a share of his father’s estate instead.
Tulihohabwe is a Primary Five drop-out. He had left his father’s home and settled in Masindi as a casual labourer. He has no permanent home and is not married.
Rusengura said the young man was known to be a habitual criminal and a drug addict.
It is not known why he killed the family in the neigbouring village. Harriet Kabatoro was a widow, heading a family of seven people after her husband died early last year.
After the murder of the mother and the two oldest sons, the family is now headed by 12-year-old Alex Akampulira. He has to look after his three siblings of nine, six and three years.
Last year, the Police in their annual crime report stated that murder cases had increased to 2,753, up from 1,927 in 2007.