Child killed as man attacks father-in-law's home in Kabarole

Police in Kabarole District are investigating a brutal murder of a child in the early hours of October 29, 2024, in Kakworo Village, Hakibale Sub-County, where a 28-year-old man is accused of attacking the home of his 49-year-old father-in-law identified as Samuel Muhiigi.

The suspect, who has since been identified as Nazalio Kakana, is said to have hacked 12-year-old Susan Mary Kabjwika and her 7-year-old brother Peter Ampaire as he targeted them while they slept.

Susan later succumbed to panga cut injuries shortly after reaching Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, while Ampaire was still in critical condition by Wednesday night.

Rwenzori West region police spokesperson SP Vincent Twesige said the incident is believed to have stemmed from a long-standing family dispute following Kakana’s marital woes leading to a fall out with his two wives.

The two wives are biological sisters.

“After Kakana got misunderstanding with his wives, his elder wife divorced leaving her sister behind. Later, she also left him after a domestic misunderstanding and this prompted the suspect to search for a younger wife aged 15 with.”

“But the suspect has been threatening to harm his in-laws over the divorce of his wives. So, the deceased and boy were vulnerable because their mother divorced,” police noted.

At the time of the attack, Muhiigi and the victims were were sleeping in one room.

SP Twesige said officers from Hakibale Police Post joined by a specialized team from Kabarole District Police headquarters responded to the scene but they were yet to arrest the suspect.

“The victim had multiple fresh cuts on various body parts, including the head and hands, and sustained compound fractures to the fingers and occipital bone. Additionally, a severe hematoma was found in the head region, and the deceased’s clothes were saturated with blood. Bandages covering the head indicated an attempt, possibly before the incident, to tend to a head injury,” a police statement suggested.

SP Twesige emphasized that bloodstained walls and beddings testified a violent incident and exhibits had been collected from the scene to further ongoing forensic investigations.

However, police had not yet recovered the killer weapons believed to be a panga or machete.

According to the 2023 annual police crime report, about 25 lives are lost to murder or accidents in Uganda every day.