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Another pastor arrested over Kakira ritual killing
Trinity Nakisuyi Nabirye Zabeela, the victim of the ritual killing and Joseph Sserubiri who confessed to the crime. PHOTO/PHILIP WAFULA
What you need to know:
- Mr Israel Isama Buyinza is accused of masterminding the ritual killing of a four-year-old girl.
Kampala Metropolitan Police has transferred a Nansana-based pastor to Jinja Police Station in connection with the murder of a four-year-old girl.
Mr Israel Isama Buyinza from Deliverance and Healing Ministries joins Prophet Joseph Sserubiri and his lover, Felista Namaganda, who on December 4 confessed to participating in the ritual killing of Trinity Nakisuyi Nabirye Zabeela. The four-year-old girl was last seen alive on September 30.
Upon interrogation, Sserubiri and Namaganda—who fellowship in a Church at Market Village, Kakira Town Council—led detectives to Wanyange Village. The deceased’s head was retrieved from a sugarcane plantation near the shores of Lake Victoria. The torso was found wrapped in a polythene sugar bag.
The Kiira Region Police Spokesperson, Mr James Mubi said: “Buyinza and the two prime suspects (Mr Sserubiri and Ms Namaganda) are being held at gazetted centres of detention within Kiira region.”
Last week, the police spokesperson Fred Enanga said Sserubiri told detectives that the ritual killing was carried out upon the counsel of Mr Buyinza.
The latter is reported to have said the killing was necessary if Mr Sserubiri and Ms Namaganda intended to get a big following in their church.
Mr Mubi revealed that “Sserubiri came to set up a branch of Deliverance and Healing Ministries in Kakira.” He added that they established that Mr Sserubiri worked as a prophet at Buyinza’s Nansana-based church. He was allegedly excommunicated from the church two years ago due to theft and fleecing people.
The chairperson of Market Village, Mr Yona Sabwe, earlier told Daily Monitor that Ms Namaganda introduced Mr Sserubiri to him as a squeaky clean pastor.
“I thought he was doing a good job because he came with recommendations from other pastors,” Mr Sabwe said.
Daily Monitor has seen one such recommendation reported to be from Deliverance and Healing Ministries, Nansana, where Mr Sserubiri was excommunicated.
Mr Mubi said Mr Buyinza is being charged with aggravated trafficking in persons. Elsewhere, Mr Sserubiri and Ms Namaganda are being charged on two counts—murder and aggravated trafficking in persons.
“Sserubiri implicated Buyinza as being the one who sent him to carry out the crime. So, as a way of exhausting inquiries, we need the call data record of Buyinza,” Mr Mubi said. He added: “We have to exhaust inquiries before taking the accused persons to court and the case file is with the directorate of public prosecutions for perusal and legal advice.”
Grisly crime
Mr Sserubiri confessed to the crime after blood stains were recovered from a room the victim’s father rented out to him. The room also doubled as his church.
Detectives also recovered two blood-stained knives which were allegedly used by the suspects to slit their victim’s throat.
Mr Sabwe said Mr Sserubiri told detectives that he slit the deceased’s throat once as Ms Namaganda held a container to draw her blood. Most of this blood was emptied in the family’s pit-latrine.
