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How 6-year-old was lured to her death
What you need to know:
- The circumstances under which Happy Komugisha was kidnapped by a stranger from a group of four other pupils as they walked through a bushy path is even more puzzling
Residents and leaders in Kirangazi Village, Ngoma Town Council, Nakaseke District, are yet to come to terms with the manner in which a six-year old girl was kidnapped on Friday and later strangled to death as she returned home from school.
The circumstances under which Happy Komugisha was kidnapped by a stranger from a group of four other pupils as they walked through a bushy path is even more puzzling.
Mr Moses Ntegeka, a resident of Kirangazi Village, who first reported the matter to police, narrated what he saw.
“I quickly rushed to Katuugo Police Post and reported the incident. The children revealed that the man who convinced Happy Komugisha to go and help him lift the firewood was not known to them. The children heard Komugisha crying and ran away in fear,” he said in an interview.
Mr Ntegeka said the stranger took advantage of the bushy path and long distance that the children walk to their school from their respective homes.
Mr Sam Twineamazima, the Savana Regional Police spokesperson, said the suspect first defiled the girl before ending her life. “As the victim, together with four other pupils, walked home, they met a stranger who convinced the young girl to go and assist him lift the firewood. The other children later heard Komugisha crying,” he said.
“They informed a man [Ntegeka] they met about what had happened. It is unfortunate that when a search was made, the victim was found lifeless,” he added.
Ms Jovan Kemirembe, the mother of the deceased girl, on Saturday revealed that her daughter always moved in company of other children to school and had cautioned her against walking alone.
“It is likely that the attacker targeted my daughter and possibly knew her very well. We had no nearby school and the children have been crossing through a bushy farm path to access the school. It is unfortunate that my daughter was kidnapped and killed,” she said.
Nakaseke North Member of Parliament Henry Nyongole partly blamed the incident on the long distances that some of the children have to walk to access the nearest school.
“When you get to Ngoma Sub-county, some of the children walk long distances and have to manoeuvre through the bushy village paths that cut through the different farms to access their respective schools. Some farm owners employ questionable people that are never registered with the respective LC offices,” he said.
The four children that survived the attack were aged between 4 and 6 years but could not identify the stranger, Mr Abby Mugisha, the defence secretary of Kirangazi Village, revealed. Statistics from the Probation Office in Nakaseke District show that between January and August 2023, 38 defilement cases were registered at the office.
