Thugs stab bishop’s daughter to death

RIP. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah lays a wreath on Christine Anyeko’s casket at Christ Church in Gulu Town on Wednesday. COURTESY PHOTO

Gulu. A daughter of Northern Uganda Diocese Bishop Nelson Onono Onweng was pronounced dead after she was reportedly stabbed by unknown thugs.
Christine Anyeko succumbed to knife injuries at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu Town where she had been admitted, according to reports Daily Monitor obtained yesterday.
The deceased was reportedly stabbed three times on her hands and twice in the ribs on December 28.
A family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the matter on Thursday, said the deceased was attacked while heading for prayers at Christ Church in Gulu Municipality.
He said: “She used to wake up every morning at 5am to go for prayers but on the fateful morning, she woke up at around 1am thinking it was her usual time and moved out. She could have met bad people who attacked her on the way.”
According to him, Bishop Onweng who was also at home received a call from a relative in Koro Rom Village in Koro Sub-county, Omoro District about 6 kilometres away from home that her daughter had been attacked and had injuries where she was later rushed to the health centre.
“She was able to talk and disclosed that her attackers wanted money from her yet she only had Shs1,000 and a Holy Bible on her. She went on to say the attackers didn’t believe her since she was smartly dressed, before they begun stabbing her,” he said.
The Gulu District Police Commander, Mr Emmanuel Mufundo, yesterday said: “Actually, we don’t have any reports on what could have caused the deceased death. We never had the opportunity to conduct postmortem because the relatives rejected it. We, however, got reports that she was stabbed by unknown thugs.”
He explained that the police are conducting investigation on her death and who could have been behind it since there are contradicting reports.
Mr Mufumbo said although they have not yet arrested suspects directly linked to the death of Anyeko, a total of 50 suspected thugs have so far been arrested to help in investigations.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Jacob Oulanyah, who attended the deceased requiem mass, said there is need to increase vigilance, community watch and formation of a circle of friends for security.