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How two men found in septic tank were killed
A police cesspool truck at the residence where bodies were retrieved from the septic tank in Ssimbwa Zone, Rubaga Division in Kampala City. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Police investigations state that the suspect killed his first victim, Roland Akandida, in December 2020 after the latter accused him of stealing construction materials at the site.
The arrest of a security guard, who was protecting the residence where two bodies were found in Ssimbwa Zone, Rubaga Division in Kampala City, has helped the police to establish the suspected killer, the motive for the crime, and how they were killed.
The guard was suspected to have gone missing in late January. However, police arrested him from his hideout in Ndeeba, Kampala just a few miles away from the crime scene on Monday.
Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire said: “The guard admitted to killing the two victims and dumping their bodies in the septic tank. He was yesterday taken back to the residence for the reconstruction of the scene.”
Police investigations state that the suspect killed his first victim, Roland Akandida, in December 2020 after the latter accused him of stealing construction materials at the site.
The suspect allegedly told police that Akandida threatened to report him to the owner of the site.
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“He (Akandida) told me that he was sure that my boss would dismiss me from the job or hand me over to the police after getting a report that the materials had been stolen,” the suspect told detectives.
The suspect, however, denied stealing the building materials.
The guard told the police he strangled Akandida at night when they were alone at the site and dumped the body in the septic tank.
The owner of the site later learnt of the missing building materials that he estimated to cost Shs100m.
The owner suspected Akandida of stealing the building materials since had gone missing.
Mr Owoyesigyire said the owner of the site, accompanied by the suspect, reported the matter to police in Kabowa, where a case of theft of building materials was opened.
Detectives said the guard pinned Akandida, which created a fake motive for his disappearance.
Police officers launched investigations into the matter and the search was focused on finding Akandida and recovering the stolen items.
Detectives also suspected that Akandida had fled upcountry or was hiding in one of the city suburbs.
In early January, according to the suspect, Patrick Turyasingura, who was staying in the building at the site, also accused the guard of stealing building materials.
The suspect told the police that Turyasingura threatened to report him to the owner of the site.
Mr Owoyesigyire said the suspect told detectives that he bought Turyasingura alcohol and waited until he was too drunk and strangled him to death before dumping the body in the septic tank.
The detectives also established that the guard, before he fled the scene, spread a rumour that incriminated the owner of the site and his relatives of being behind the disappearance of the two victims.
Basing on the rumour, Kabowa police arrested Turyasingura’s relative, who had gone to the station to file a missing person case on January 26.
On January 29, detectives arrested the wife of the owner of the site after she discovered a body in the septic tank and reported it to police.
Police later identified the body as that of Turyasingura.
The wife denied having prior knowledge of the whereabouts of Turyasingura and insisted that she was checking the septic tank because of the previous cases reported in the media of suspects hiding bodies there.
They later found a second body, which had decomposed in the septic tank, which they believe to be that of Akandida.
Later police arrested her husband, who said he did not know how Turyasingura and Akandida were killed.
Detectives were able to get evidence confirming that the owner of the site and his wife were not at the scene of the crime at the time of the disappearance of Akandida and the murder of Turyasingura and focussed their investigations on the guard, who was the only person at the site when the two people disappeared.
