How pastor, lover conspired to kill landlord’s daughter

A four-year-old girl, who was reportedly murdered in Jinja District by a pastor and his lover, was first sent to buy a soda and cake.
The drink reportedly made her drowsy before she was murdered.

Prophet Joseph Sserubiri and his wife Felista Namaganda of Deliverance and Healing Ministries in Market Village, Kakira Town Council, confessed to killing Trinity Nakisuyi Nabirye Zabeela, who went missing from her parents’ home in the same area on September 30.
A neighbour, who preferred anonymity, said on that fateful day, after buying soda and cake, the girl sat on Namaganda’s laps as she sipped the drink.

 “I don’t know if her soda had been poisoned, but I could see she was drowsy as Namaganda held her head and face while appreciating her braids,” the neighbour said.
The neighbour further described Sserubiri as a loner who rarely greeted people but was very friendly with children.
Mr Yona Sabwe, the  chairperson of Market Village, said  the shopkeeper corroborated the account that the deceased bought a soda from his shop on that day.

Mr Sabwe said when it was reported that the girl was missing, Sserubiri and his co-accused fled the area, fuelling speculation that they had a hand in her disappearance.
He said later when the duo was arrested, they led the investigators to Wanyange Village on the shores of Lake Victoria, where the deceased’s skull was recovered.
 Her torso was found wrapped in a polythene sugar bag and dumped in a sugar plantation.

The Kiira Region Police Spokesperson, Mr James Mubi, earlier told Daily Monitor that Sserubiri confessed to committing the crime after blood stains were recovered from his church.
“Investigations indicate that the couple sacrificed the innocent girl to attract followers,” Mr Mubi said.
Mr Sabwe said also found at the scene of crime were  two blood-stained knives which they allegedly used to slit their victim’s throat.

Recounting Sserubiri’s confession, Mr Sabwe said he told detectives that he slit the deceased’s throat once, while Namaganda held a container to draw her blood, most of which was emptied in the family’s pit-latrine.
“Sserubiri said he then handed over a second knife to Namaganda to decapitate the victim, before hiding both knives in the church’s rooftop,” Mr Sabwe said.
Mr Sabwe added that Namaganda always moved with Sserubiri, got him a room to rent and cooked for him, reinforcing his belief that the pair met elsewhere before relocating to market village. Mr John Mulodhi, the father of the deceased girl said: “My daughter died because I let this man rent my house for Shs200, 000. If I hadn’t done so, she would still be alive.”

The church
Ms Zulaika Manase, a neighbour, said most  people who attend prayers at  Sserubiri’s church are women.
“Three to five women accessed his church, but on a one-by-one basis. He would pray for one at a time, while the rest waited outside,” she said.
Efforts to speak to one of the women were futile as none of them could be traced by press time.

A six-year-old brother of the deceased said he last saw Nabirye playing with her friends around Ms Manase’s home.
Ms Manase said she last saw Nabirye alive on Thursday, September 30 at her home, suggesting that she could have been killed that day.
Mr Sabwe said: “I used to hear about child sacrifice in Masaka but for it to happen here, we are shocked.”
He added: “Namaganda introduced Sserubiri to me as a Pastor who had come to preach. I gave him a go-ahead to settle in the community. I thought he was doing a good job because he came with recommendations from other ‘pastors’. I shouldn’t have allowed him to stay.”

Mr Peter Lubembe, an uncle of the deceased girl, said: “We were told that when police asked Sserubiri why he didn’t sacrifice his own daughter, he said he wanted ‘a more attractive target’. They would have instead asked us for money, say, Shs3m, and we would look for it but they spare her life.”