Grief as baby and maid are killed in Kabowa

The killer, dressed as a utility provider, enters the house and stabs one-year-old baby and maid to death before dumping the toddler’s body in the bathroom. This is the second gruesome murder this year after one in January.

His parents left him under the care of a maid and went to work. Arriving home later in the day, however, Mr Solomon Byaruhanga and his wife Fiona, were not welcomed with the usual smile from their one-year-old son but two bodies, lying in cold blood.

The body of baby Shawn was dumped in the bathroom while that of the maid, Victoria Muhamba, 17, was lying in a pool of blood in the living room.

Day-time murder
Kampala South Regional Criminal Investigations Commander Jackson Tumwine said the incident happened between 1pm to 3pm on Friday at the family’s home in St. Anni Zone in Kabowa, Lubaga Division in Kampala.

After killing the duo, the unknown assailants allegedly wrote a message on the wall, saying “leave my man alone’’.

Mr Tumwine said they are yet to trace the suspects or establish the motive of the killing. “Our team, including forensic experts, is on the ground, collecting evidence. It is that evidence that will help us trace the suspects,” Mr Tumwine said.

Baby Shawn was stabbed on the fore head, on the left hand-side of the chest and lower abdomen while the maid, who had been with the family for a month, was stabbed eight times; twice in the head, on right-hand side of the chest, and four times in the abdomen.

When the Sunday Monitor visited the home, the Byaruhangas were reportedly at Mulago hospital for a post-mortem.

Disguised killers
But their neighbours said the people they suspect to have killed the duo arrived at the scene at around 1pm, disguised as service providers and knocked at the gate and were let in. One eye witness claimed the suspects were wearing grey khaki overalls.

“They entered and took some time there. They later walked out. We didn’t bother to find out who they were because other people often visit the house,” a neighbour, who declined to reveal her name, said.

The suspects apparently made off with Mr Byarihanga’s a passport.

Stabbing people in the houses by unknown assailants has been common in the central region with the latest cases reported in Rakai, Wakiso and Masaka districts.

Nine family members were killed in Rakai last month.

abagala@ug.nationmedia.com