Man kills wife for delaying to return home on Christmas day

IGANGA- A massive manhunt by police is underway for a 35-year-old man who used a machete to hack his wife to death after accusing her of eloping with another man on Christmas day.

The suspect is said to have hacked Betty Anyokoti, 25, who left their marital home to celebrate Christmas in Idudi, her home village, but delayed to return to her marital home on Monday evening which raised suspicion that she was partying with another man.

According Mr William Okunyuku, a resident of the area, at about 10 pm on Monday (Christmas day), the machete-wielding husband started searching for the wife before intercepting and hacking her to death.

She was in the company of their seven-year-old child as they walked home.

“When the husband met the woman on the way, a heated argument ensued and when it escalated, the man cut her to death,” Mr Okunyuku said, adding that the deceased sustained deep cuts on her head, chest and hands.

Residents were attracted to the scene by the loud screams of her child.

Police took the body to Iganga Hospital Mortuary for a post-mortem.

Chaos ensued at the mortuary when relatives of the deceased demanded to take the body and bury it in the middle of the suspect’s compound. Police, however, foiled the plan.

Busoga East Region Police Spokesman, Mr James Mubi, said the suspect is still on the run.