Police hunt four family members over torturing son to death

Police in Lira District are hunting for four family members accused of torturing their 25-year-old son to death.

It is reported that on September 5, 2024, deceased Isaac Oluk, a resident of Apikongo Village, Olilo Parish in Itek Sub-county, Lira District turned violent under the influence of drugs and assaulted his younger sister, whom he left with injuries, according to police files.

In retaliation, Oluk’s father “called another relative with whom they tied the deceased to a tree using a rope and beat him up badly.”

Officers from Abolet Police Outpost hurried to the scene to rescue Oluk and rushed him to Barr Health Centre IV for treatment before he was referred to Lira Regional Referral Hospital.

However, authorities say the family members preferred a private clinic in Lira City, where Oluk died on arrival.

The suspects wanted by police over Oluk’s death include his father Samuel Oluk, younger sister Agnes Atala and Denis Ojuka among others on the run.

North Kyoga Region police spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema revealed that “the suspects on the run aimed to conceal the matter but police have already intervened.”

“When the suspect died, they rushed and buried the body before postmortem was done but some concerned people informed us. We have now commenced with the investigations into the matter and the hunt for the suspects is underway,” he emphasized.

He condemned the suspected murder, warning the community against taking the law into their own hands.

“As police we condemned this inhumane act of torture. That can’t amount to the defense of killing a person. We pledge our commitment to apprehending these family members and justice must be realized,” he added.

According to the police annual crime report of 2023, North Kyoga Region registered 222 cases of murder, and 72 cases were by assault.

Nationally the region was ranked fifth after the Rwizi, Albertine, Ruwenzori West and Wamala regions.