Mother arrested for beheading her two children in suspected ritual sacrifice

Jinja, (UG): The Territorial Police in Kiira region and Jinja district have arrested a heartless mother over charges related to the alleged double murder of her two children and later burying them inside the house.

The suspect identified as Mwase Rose, 27, is a resident of Buwajinaikazi village in Jinja District, and was staying with one Kagoda Paul, a 23-year-old peasant of the same village as husband and wife.

Police Spokesperson, SCP Fred Enanga who confirmed the incident said the two children, Babirye Shina, 5, and Claire Sowati, a one-year-old, female victim are said to have been killed by their mother and thereafter buried them in their sitting room around 27th October 2023, when her husband Kagoda Paul, was doing casual work in Ngongwe, Buikwe district.

Enanga explained that when the father of the children returned home last Monday, October 30, he found his wife alone at home and their two children missing, and attempts to find out where the children went futile as the wife failed to give a clear explanation regarding their whereabouts.

“The suspect failed to give a clear explanation to her husband, which prompted him to inquire from their neighbours, who told him how they had seen his children, 3 days back while playing around their home.  He searched around the home and later established a fresh grave in his sitting room, where his daughters had been buried,” Enanga stated.

The father of the children immediately alerted authorities and the suspect was arrested and handed over to Budondo Police Station for further questioning.

According to Mr Enanga, the scene of crime was cordoned off and revisited on the 31st of October, by a team of investigative and forensic experts from Kiira Region, leading to the arrest of the father, a traditional healer in the area to help in investigations.

Kagoda’s arrest came after the team that revisited the scene found the headless body of Sowati Claire a one-year-old missing.

“Her chopped-off head was recovered, and the body of her elder sister,” Enanga revealed, adding that further arrangements are now in place to recover the headless body of Sowati Claire, which the mother admitted to having buried in the cassava garden, next to their compound

“It is very painful that the victims died in the hands of their mother, who was supposed to protect them. We believe every child has a right to life, no matter the circumstances under which they live in. The suspect is being charged with two counts of murder,” Enanga added.