Man held at Parliament could  be involved in other killings

Joseph Nuwashaba (right) accompanied by detectives at CID headquarters in Kibuli in Kampala  on Monday.PHOTO | KELVIN ATUHAIRE

What you need to know:

  • There were two severed heads that were recovered in Ibanda District last November. Two torsos of human beings were also identified in Kamwenge District around the same period, but all were not identified.

The Criminal Investigations Directorate has started studying recent beheadings of children in Greater Bushenyi region to establish if they are connected to the man who was found with a severed head at Parliament.

Joseph Nuwashaba, 22, was found with a severed head of Faith Kyamagero,  the daughter of Mr Charles Ssenyonga, a resident of Kyabakuza in Kimanya Kyabukuza Division in Masaka City. 
Nuwashaba was hired as a casual labourer by Mr Ssenyonga three months ago.

Police yesterday confirmed that the DNA test on the head at Parliament and the torso abandoned in Masaka City matched.
The spokesperson of CID, Mr Charles Twiine, said there is a possibility that the suspect could have been involved in other killings in the region.

“We are looking at similar killings in the western region where parts of the bodies were recovered, but suspects were never found. We want to find out if any of them has links to this suspect,” Assistant Superintendent of Police Twiine said yesterday.

On Monday, Nuwashaba, who was dressed in female garments, was arrested at Parliament entrance with a severed head wrapped in a box. He claimed that he was delivering it to the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga. 

The suspect denies knowing the contents of the box he was carrying.

Speaker Kadaga yesterday declined to comment on the incident and instead asked Members of Parliament to wait for the outcome of police investigations.

“Yesterday (Monday) an incident occurred at Parliament which is being investigated by the police. Someone arrived here at the gates of Parliament with some strange package,” Speaker Kadaga said in Parliament.

“So we expect the Uganda Police Force to expeditiously handle that issue and notify us about the circumstances,” she added.

It is alleged that the suspect claimed that he had participated in other killings in western Uganda.
The detectives yesterday interviewed the suspect’s relatives at CID headquarters to understand his mental health and social history and whether they have information about his acts.

The detectives could not divulge details of their interaction with the suspects’ relatives because it could jeopardise the investigations.

Mr Twiine said they are still pursuing key questions of whether the suspect carried out the killing alone or with the aid of others, how he travelled from Masaka to Parliament and the motive of the act.

He said the suspect is to be subjected to mental examinations to establish whether he is of sound mind or not before they move to the next criminal procedure.

Similar incidents

There were two severed heads that were recovered in Ibanda District last November. Two torsos of human beings were also identified in Kamwenge District around the same period, but all were not identified.