Three arrested after woman is killed, dumped in Busia river

Police in Busia District, Eastern Uganda, have arrested three suspects in connection to the killing of a 40-year-old woman.

Ms Paulina Lokiru’s body was on May 8 found dumped in River Solo, Solo ‘A’ village, Busia town, the Bukedi Region Police Spokesperson, Moses Mugwe, said.

“We received information involving a murder of a 40-year-old woman and have arrested three people as investigations go on,” Mr Mugwe said adding that they are yet to establish the motive of the killing.

However, he said the police are following clues suggesting that an unknown person had [phone] called out the victim from her house after midnight. Investigations will establish whether the caller had a hand in her killing. 

Solo ‘A’ Village LC1 chairman, Mr Sam Mbogo, said the deceased was discovered by residents who were going to garden in the morning.

“They saw traces of blood along the riverbank and when they came closer, they found her body lying on the bed of the river,” Mr Mbogo said.

Unverified reports suggest that the mother-of-six was lured to her death by a yet-to-be-identified person, who reportedly told her that they had meat to share.

Jamada Mayende, a resident, said: “The deceased was called by some unknown person at about 1am, telling her that there was meat to be shared, while her husband, Paul Agan, who is a security guard, was on night duty."

Agan provided an alibi to his whereabouts at the time of the murder, saying he was on his night shift of duty, but only heard that his wife was called from the house by an unknown person, who seemed to know her, while promising her meat.

He described his wife as a “peaceful woman who never held grudges with anyone”, raising questions of who might have killed her or wanted her dead.

The deceased worked as a cleaner and often spent time sorting cereals in Busia main market. Her body was taken to Busia Health Centre IV for postmortem.

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