Missing Kitebi SS Student Found Murdered

Police in Bunamwaya, Makindye Ssabagabo Municipality, are investigating the gruesome murder of Joy Namata, a student of Kitebi Secondary School, who was found dead after missing for nearly three days.

Namata, who had been reported missing by her mother, Joy Nabawanuka, and her teachers, was discovered by locals dumped by the roadside. The residents immediately alerted the police, who collected the body and conveyed it to the City Mortuary in Mulago. 

At the mortuary, police informed relatives that the body of a young female had been recovered. When Nabawanuka and other family members arrived, they confirmed that it was indeed their daughter, Joy Namata, whom they had been searching for. Nabawanuka said she last saw her daughter in the middle of the week and that Namata had promised to visit her during the holidays, as she had been staying with her grandmother.

“My daughter promised to come back and see me so we could spend some good time together. I didn’t know she was saying goodbye forever. My daughter was in Senior Three and was promising in her studies.” Nabawanuka said tearfully. Preliminary reports from locals indicate that Namata may have been killed by her boyfriend, identified only as Kakande, for reasons yet to be established.

According to police, at least three residents of Bunamwaya saw the girl walking with Kakande between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and the two appeared to be in a close relationship. “The locals have told police that they saw Kakande with my daughter. She was living with her grandmother, and I thought she was at school. When the grandmother called me to say she had not returned home, I was shocked. I couldn’t imagine she was involved in anything bad. We were hopeful she would return alive,” Nabawanuka added.

Following the discovery, police and residents searched for Kakande’s rented room in Bunamwaya town but found he had already vacated. However, one of Kakande’s friends, whose identity the police withheld, revealed his new location. Officers later tracked him down and arrested him at his hideout. Bunamwaya Police Station and Nateete Police Division are jointly investigating the murder case.

Detectives have since begun interrogating Kakande to establish what may have led him to kill his girlfriend. At the time of filing this story, Namata’s body had been returned to her grandmother’s home in Bunamwaya as arrangements were underway to transport it to Mityana District for burial. However, the deceased’s mother, Nabawanuka, was rushed to a nearby health facility after repeatedly collapsing upon seeing her daughter’s body in the casket.