Warder shoots inmate dead over woman, turns gun on self

KAYUNGA.

A romantic love triangle has gone horribly wrong in Ntenjeru Prison in Kayunga Town Council, Kayunga District, with a prison warder shooting dead an inmate he accused of intimate involvement with his concubine.
The warder also shot himself dead within the prison premises on Tuesday, about 4pm.
The Kayunga District officer in-charge of the criminal investigation department, Mr Isaac Mugera, identified the prison warder as Moses Okello, 49.
He said Okello shot dead Elijah Nyolwanyi, 47, who was arrested in 2015 and charged with impersonation and obtaining money by false pretence.
“Gunshots poured like a rainstorm for nearly three minutes within the prison. We scampered for our dear life thinking the prison had been attacked,” a warder, who did not want to be named, said shortly after the incident.
Sources at Ntenjeru prison said the inmate was a former resident of Kasawo Village in Kasawo Sub-county, in Mukono District, and was jailed for seven years in Ntenjeru prison. His jail term was to end in early 2019.
But being a former pastor at Faith Christian Ministry in Kasaala Village in Kasawo Sub-county, Nyolwanyi soon gained the trust of prison warders.
“Because of being disciplined, and friendly, Nyolwanyi was appointed by prison authorities as the head of all inmates in the prison,” a warder said.
“As the head of prisoners, Nyolwanyi would move freely and would go to warders’ homes, from where he carried out several chores, including washing clothes, fetching water and others,” he added.
But Nyolwanyi was also an exceptional prisoner as he reportedly had lots of money and would go to Kayunga Town to buy his own food and other items unescorted.
But residents say Nyolwanyi also had an especial time at prison warder Okello’s home and carried out errands for him, since Okello had no permanent wife.
“But his lover, Ms Sarah Namutebi would occasionally come home and spend a few days and then go away. During such days, Okello would also leave Ms Namutebi at home alone with Nyolwanyi doing the usual chores,” a prison warder said.
But the lone moments soon proved tempting. It is suspected that the lonesome moments between Ms Namutebi and Nyolwanyi soon created cosy feelings between the two, with fellow warders and women in the prisons warning Okello about the affair.
But Ms Namutebi, who is now being held at Kayunga police station, denied having an affair with the inmate.
She confessed to investigators at Kayunga Police Station that Okello was just “her boyfriend” since she was married to another man in Namagabi Village, Kayunga Town Council, with whom they have four children.
“Okello has for long been accusing me of having a love affair with the prisoner and one day he beat me up badly and threatened to kill the inmate,” Ms Namutebi said as she showed scars of what she said were wounds inflicted on her by Okello.
On the fateful day, Okello had in the morning vowed to “finish off” Nyolwanyi for hijacking his lover.
As Nyolwanyi showed up with a jerrycan of water within the prison premises at around 4pm, Okello shot him several times in the chest. He died instantly.
Okello then dashed to a toilet and locked himself in. But police officers stationed only a stone’s throw away rushed to the scene of crime.
Mr Isaac Mugera, the Kayunga district CID boss, said the police sprayed teargas into the toilet to force Okello out but Okello shot himself in the neck.
Mr Ibrahim Kisaku, the officer in-charge of Ntenjeru prison, said he was not at liberty to speak about the matter to the press, but described the incident as “very sensitive” and can only be “commented on by higher authorities”. Both bodies were taken to Mulago hospital for postmortem as investigations continue.