Daughter identifies trouser, jacket of missing doctor

The daughter of missing Ugandan doctor, Gideon Wamasebu, has identified clothes found on a body which was exhumed by Kenyan police as those her father was wearing when he left home.

The body, which is suspected to be that of Wamasebu, was reportedly buried in a shallow grave near River Kakamega in Kabras Village, Kakamega County, Kenya.

It was exhumed in the presence of members of the doctor’s family. 

In an interview with Monitor yesterday, Ms Pauline Tsekooko Wamasebu, one of Wamasebu’s sisters, said the doctor’s daughter identified a trouser and a jacket found on the body as those her father was wearing when he left home for Kenya on February 6. 

“…we are still waiting for DNA before they release the body. It might take a week. It is only DNA, which is conclusive evidence because somebody else can camouflage in his clothes,” Ms Tsekooko said.

A statement released by the family yesterday stated that ascertaining the identity of the body was being done by both Kenyan and Ugandan medical personnel. 

The statement added that Wamasebu left his home, saying he was going for a business trip in Kenya. 

“On February 7, several family members received distress messages from his phone, indicating he had been kidnaped and was being held in Kenya. The messages were also seeking a ransom,” the statement reads in part. 

It is alleged that Wamasebu’s kidnappers asked for Shs4m and killed him when they failed to get the money.
Preliminary investigations by the Kenyan police showed that an alleged pastor, who was said to be travelling with the doctor, led the authorities to the grave where the body was found.  

Police said the suspect, who has since been arrested, sent messages to extort money from Wamasebu’s family using the doctor’s phone. 

Wamasebu, a father of three and a devout Catholic, retired two years ago from public service and had been in private practice offering consultancy services and was also a lecturer at Uganda Martyrs’ University. 

Mr George William Wopuwa, the Moroto resident district commissioner and a friend of the doctor, described the incident as unfortunate, saying Wamasebu is a kind man with a gentle soul.

“We met in 1983 and were circumcised the same year in 1976. We were also at Makerere University together. I have worked with him when I was CAO (chief administrative officer) when he was medical superintendent of Bududa District. I have known him as a social and an open person,” he said.

Mr Moses Tsekooko, the Manafwa District community officer, said he worked with Wamasebu in the past and described him as a good mentor and a supportive man. 

“While he was DHO (district health officer) of Manafwa, he was hardworking, very kind and he was a good mentor. He mentored all of us,” he said, adding that he was doing consultancy work with the Office of the Prime Minister in his retirement.

Wamasebu was also a reknown model dairy farmer at his home in Namabasa Sub-county in Mbale City.
Ms Joyce Khwaka, a secretary to the DHO of Manafwa District, said: “He was a good person, who loved his job until he retired. He was a father and a good adviser.”

Mr Jimmy Wamboya, a friend, said when he joined Makerere University, Wamasebu was completing his bachelor’s degree in medicine.

“We were united under the umbrella of Makerere University Mbale Students Association,” he said. 

A relative of Wamasebu, who asked not to be named, told Monitor that the family will meet today to prepare as they wait for results from the DNA tests.

“Not much is likely to change from what we know,” the relative said.