Kampala, (UG): The Police have revealed shocking details surrounding the gruesome murder of Dr Jino Abiriga, the former District Health Officer of Masindi.
While addressing the media on Monday at Naguru, SCP Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, told journalists that Dr Abiriga’s murder was not only a premeditated act but also involved a sinister plot orchestrated by the widow, Betty Cherotich, who allegedly hired contract killers to carry out the heinous crime.
The investigation, carried out by the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) in coordination with regional police teams and the Flying Squad, uncovered a sinister plot that unfolded in multiple stages.
According to Mr Enanga, the motive behind the murder was rooted in marital discord, jealousy, and suspicions of infidelity.
“It was established that the plot to murder the deceased began after Cherotic Betty learnt about a second relationship that her husband had with a lady called Atuhura Susan in Masindi. As a result, she first hatched a plot to kill her concubine or co-wife and the first attempt was by setting fire on her house, which was put off by neighbours,” Enanga stated.
He added; “On the 11th of December 2023, Cherotic Betty hired a contract killer, Kipisang Martin, at a cost of 2.5 million Ugandan Shillings to eliminate Atuhura Susan. One week later, that was on the 18th of December, she sent 500,000 to Kipisang Martin to come and target Atuhura Susan for elimination. However, this plot failed when the intended victim did not appear at the expected location.”
Undeterred, Cherotic then shifted her focus to her husband, accusing him of the death of their firstborn, the miscarriage of twins, and alleged insults about her sexual performance. She allegedly tasked Martin Kipiang to find another person to assist in the murder.
On December 26, 2023, Kipisang, along with the newly recruited Joshua Namureng, attempted to carry out the murder. However, the plan failed when the doctor woke up and closed the door Cherotic had left open for entry.
Enanga added that, “On the 6th of January around midday they booked a room at Valentine’s Guest House. So during the night she alerted them that the husband was deep asleep.”
“They found the gate open, and she led them into the bedroom. They had two golf sticks. So they found when the victim was asleep and they hit him on the head with the handhoe stick, dragged the body to the floor and then they slit the throat of the late doctor,” said Enanga.
The trio then cleaned the crime scene, dressed the deceased in new clothing, and dumped the body 50 meters away, outside the gate.
After the murder, the two male suspects disposed of bloodstained clothes in a pit latrine at Valentine’s guest house, where they had stayed. They left Masindi Municipality on January 7, 2024, at 5:30 a.m for Bukwo.
All three suspects, including Cherotic, Kipisang, and Namureng, have admitted to their involvement in the murder.
“We reconstructed the crime scenes, recovered several exhibits including shoes of the deceased with the suspect, clothes of the suspects, which they had on that day of the murder, and submitted samples for forensic analysis, which we recovered from Bulyasojo cell. We retrieved the bag from the latrine at Valentine’s guest house. It had a pillow cover, a moping rug, work ID for the deceased and several other bloodstained clothes,” Enanga said.
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