Seven Arrested over Suspected Ritual Murders of Women

Seven people have been arrested in relation to suspected ritual murders of women in Bukomansimbi District.

Police Flying Squad operatives arrested the suspects following four incidents of murder of women in Bukango Sub-county within a period of nine days.

The suspects include Godfrey Mugabi, a traditional healer, Moses Kabogere, Robert Kimbugwe Ssalongo, Julius Agaba, Onsesmus Muramuzi, Henry Ssekate, and George Ssegirinya, all residents of Bukomansimbi District.

Twaha Kasirye, the Greater Masaka Regional Police Spokesperson, indicates that they were arrested based on clues linking them to ritual killings of women that police have been investigating over time. He says the suspects are connected to the suspicious disappearances of Aisha Namirembe, Hadidja Nalungira, Maurine Nakintu, and Mariam Mugufuli, who were reported missing within a period of one month.

According to Kasirye, they were arrested after police obtained leads that resulted in the recovery of human remains in Mugabi’s shrine at Migaaju Village in Bukango Sub-county. He indicates that preliminary investigations link the suspects to collaborative ritual murders committed with intentions of obtaining wealth.

George William Ssebuuma, the Bukango Sub-county Chairperson, says the killings had stirred a lot of fear among the community, given the history of similar killings that have occurred in the area.

He narrates that the latest incident was reported last week when Hadidja Nalungira went missing, only for her lifeless body to be found floating in a community water dam four days later.

According to Ssebuuma, the killers have been taking some body parts from their victims, allegedly for superstitious intentions.

Rogers Muweesi, a resident of Kyanaamirira Village, where some of the human remains were recovered, has challenged police to widen their investigations into the killings, arguing that it could be the work of a wider racket that operates beyond Bukomansimbi. 

He alleges that similar suspicious disappearances have been reported in other sub-counties in the neighbouring districts of Sembabule and Kalungu, adding that the perpetrators could be owning more shrines in areas where they practice witchcraft.