Man held over killing son after missing Covid relief cash

The Kalaki resident district commissioner (RDC), Mr Paul Kalikwani, has arrested a 35-year-old man for allegedly strangling his nine-month-old son to death after failing to receive the Shs100,000 Covid-19 relief for vulnerable persons from government.
Mr Kalikwani said the suspect, a resident of Ogwolo Sub-county, had been telling villagemates that he would  kill all members  of his family if  he didn’t get the money.

The government recently committed to give each vulnerable person Shs100,000 to go through the 42-day lockdown that was announced last month by President Museveni to combat the spread of Covid-19. The exercise kicked off last week at the Office of the Prime Minister.
According to the RDC, when the suspect heard that people had received this cash on their mobile phones yet there was no mobile money message on his number, he turned against members of his family.

“The suspect first engaged in a fight with his wife and later grabbed the nine-month-old baby whom he strangled to death,” Mr Kalikwani said, identifying the deceased as Simon Ebayu.
He added that the residents had taken the suspect’s threats as a joke.

“I was shocked to get information that the suspect had started killing members of his family for failing to receive Covid-19 money, yet nobody in Kalaki District had got it,” Mr Kalikwani said of the suspect being held at Kalaki Central Police Station.
Ms Loyce Egwelo, the suspect’s wife, said: “My husband first got drunk before returning home, but after I overpowered him, I saw him turning against the child who he strangled.”