Police in Mayuge District have started investigations into a double murder incident where a 23-year-old man raped and killed his stepmother in a gruesome incident before the enraged mob hunted and lynched him on Wednesday evening.
The incident occurred on the night of Wednesday at Isenda village, Kigandalo Sub County where both the suspected rapist identified as Baligasima Muhammad and the deceased aunt; Mutesi Fatumah, 40, were residing. The aunt was reportedly married to Yakuti Kafero, a younger sibling of Baligasima’s father.
Busoga East police spokesperson SSP Diana Nandawula who confirmed the tragic incident said the public hunted for Baligasima and killed him immediately after he had committed the crime by strangling his aunt using a pestle.
“We registered a case of double murder at Isenda village, Kigandalo Sub County in Mayuge district where a 23-year-old man raped his aunt before killing her using a pestle. The locals were hurt by the incident and also killed the man who had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for theft,” SSP Nandawula said.
She urged the general public to avoid acts of mob justice saying the legal process should be prioritized to work on such people who commit crimes other than killing them, citing that the habit is becoming serious as two people lost lives to mob justice on Eid-Ul-Fitr day.
“We want to condemn acts of mob justice even when someone has committed a crime. There should be an allowance for the legal process against those who commit crime and we also strongly condemn involvement in criminality,” Ms. Nandawula said before saying that two people, one in Bugweri district and the other from Mayuge lost their live to mob justice during Eid day after suspecting them to be criminals.
However, the LCI chairperson of Isenda village, Mr Kawanguzi Bumali, told DailyExpress that the locals were extremely angry after the incident, and hunted down and killed Muhammad Baligasima after finding out that he had allegedly raped and killed his aunt.
He reportedly learnt about the tragic deaths of the two people at around 7:50 pm on Wednesday and was informed that the sexual assault on the stepmother took place at 7 pm.
Kawanguzi further confirmed to this publication that Nabirye was married to Yakuti Kafero, who is a younger sibling of Baligasima’s father, adding that; “Nabirye’s lifeless body was discovered naked in her home in a pool of blood.”
Henry Marton Mukisa, the LC3 chairperson Kigandalo Sub County in Mayuge district, also emphasized that Baligasima had recently been released from prison where he had served a sentence after being convicted with cases of theft. He condemned the double killing and urged the public to always have settled minds before making decisions.
The bodies were taken to Kigandalo Health Center IV for postmortem examination and were later handed over to relatives for burial arrangements.
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