By Williams Moi
25/10/2009
Police in Kumi District are looking for a human head after one businessman called Ogwel Basil aged 40 years an Etesot by tribe was beheaded by unknown thugs on Thursday night in Eastern Uganda.
Regional Police Commander (RPC) Mid Eastern Region based in Soroti District about 300km East of Kampala City Alison Agaba confirmed the murder before the media on the scene that day.
Agaba said that soon after the murder that fateful night Rapid Reaction Unit (RRU) of the Uganda Police Force were alerted where they arrived on the scene hours later with sniffer dogs which cordoned and searched the area.
She said the police dogs tried their level best to trace the suspects but failed to scent them near Olelia swamps around Koloin village in Kapir sub-county in Kumi district that night.
However, she said that the murderers when found would be brought to justice. Meanwhile Agaba said police were on the look out for the human head which the suspects escaped with to unknown destination.
“To you the public be vigilant for any strange person seen around and report to police always for prompt action”, she said.
The incident took place at around midnight (East African Standard Time) on Thursday 22/10/2009 when the deceased was sleeping in his mudded grass thatched hut in Koloin village.
According to the deceased’s wife Akayo Immaculate, the thugs were many in number who came stealthily forcing her to open the door first. They then divided into two groups during the murder time, two remained on guard when the rest were killing the victim.
After they knocked on her door, she explained that they demanded for unknown woman who was believed to be concubined by her late husband before he died. She replied them that no such woman was found there. However I managed to see two men armed with a rifle which they did not fire but used a suspected panga in the murder.
“They threatened to kill me and my kids incase I made an alarm. Later I heard a struggle from my husband with the attackers. He was sleeping in the next house. All of a sudden the struggle ended. When I alarmed later on, my brother James Eyadu came with his wife Joyce Akiyai and lit the scene where they found my husband’s head chopped off. His body lay in a pool of blood with some splashed on the wall, Akayo said.
Detective sergeant Solomon Kedi officer in-charge Criminal Investigative department at Kumi Police Station said no suspect has been arrested yet but police were busy hunting for the missing head and the suspects together as well.
On the other hand Public Relations Officer Soroti Mid Eastern Police Spokesman Juma Hassan Nyene said the postmortem report from Atutur government hospital indicated that a sharp object was used in the murder, but did not rule out the possibility of a panga or sword. Nyene urged the public to cooperate with the police in hunt.
The late Ogwel was the son to the late Olego Gabriel who was also murdered in a similar manner some time back by unknown people whose body disappeared up to date and its not yet found.
Residents of Kapir sub-county and the whole region were shocked with fear when news about the beheaded businessman dealing in pork sales at Ocamute-Koloin stage (pork joint) spread the next morning like bush fire.
There was no clear reason why the assailants committed the offence but speculators said it might have resulted from “adultery” with another man’s wife. But local councilors the reporter found on the scene namely; Atwala Deogracious, Apudu Augustine, Okello Pius and others ruled out the possibility of land disputes as a cause of the murder!.
The late came from Atekok clan from Iteso tribes (Nilo hamartic) group in Eastern Uganda).
Among the police officers who visited the scene of crime about 100km from the main Soroti-Mbale road were; District Police Commander KumiJulius Ocen, Regional Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Officer, Mr. Opuuno and Jacan Philips head of the Rapid Reaction Unit (RRU) of the Uganda Police force.
This is the fourth murder of such kind in the country, in less than a year. A school girl’s head from a high school in Soroti was chopped off but the head was discovered later. Another was a pupil of Kanyum village in Kumi district and the other was from Western Uganda and now Eastern Uganda.
Residence who talked to the reporter urged the police to speed up the investigations so as to discover the missing human head soon before rotting.
Otherwise the remaining mutilated body was buried at his ancestral home on Friday afternoon.
The widow survived with five children.#
Photo shows the mutilated body of the late Basil Ogwel aged 40 Etesot by tribe lay in coffin ready for burial after un identified thugs beheaded him on 22nd oct 2009 at Koloin village Kapir sub-county in Kumi district Eastern Uganda
Picture by Williams Moi.
contact NEMPI for picture not in the story.
contact NEMPI for picture not in the story.
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