140 people killed in robberies, domestic brawls over the past two weeks

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Statistics at the Criminal Investigations Directorate-CID indicate that 140 people have been killed in the last two weeks. This translates into 10 people being killed every day across the country.

At least 79 Ugandans were killed between October 4 and 11, in robberies, domestic brawls, while others met their death while returning from drinking.

The murders reduced from the week of October 12 to 18, when 61 people were hacked, strangled, stabbed or poisoned to death, unlike the first week when most of the fatalities stemmed from commercially related crimes like robberies.

Some of the murders resulting from domestic brawls recorded by CID include Jeros Ajaro, 46, who was allegedly hacked to death by her husband Alfred Okum, 47. After murdering his wife, Okum committed suicide.

“Their fight resulted from a simple matter. Okum was accusing his wife of misusing proceeds from their harvests. This is something that could have been resolved,” police spokesperson Fred Enanga said.

Meanwhile, Moses Katamba is being hunted for allegedly killing his 2-year-old son Moses Sserunjogi in an inferno. CID indicates that Katamba, a resident of Kikuyu village in Butambala district disagreed with his wife, locked her inside the house alongside their baby and then set it ablaze.

“The wife made an alarm that attracted locals. They rescued her but the baby was killed in the inferno. Katamba took off after committing the crime. Efforts are underway to have him arrested for this gruesome act,” detectives indicate in the report sent to CID headquarters in Kibuli.

Another woman, Ruth Namirimu is currently detained at Kira division police, in Kampala Metropolitan on allegations of strangling her four-year-old daughter Praise Nantongo. Police suspects that Namirimu strangled the daughter because she had failed to walk.

The Kampala murders also include, a 10-year-old girl’s body that was found piled in a sack and dumped in a water trench at Kinawataka village, Nakawa division, Kampala. The suspect Gerald Sematiko was arrested from Kirinya-Bweyogerere by overt police officers.

Last year, the Police Annual Crime Report stated 4,460 people were killed and the majority of these met their death through assault. This was followed by murder using blunt objects, murder by mob action and murder by strangulation.

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