Masaka family was murdered in revenge attack - Police
Mr Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, addresses journalists in Kampala on June 26, 2023. PHOTO/ FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
- The Police say the suspect, who is a nephew to a traditional healer, Emmanuel Mutesasira Ssalongo in Buwunga Sub-county in Masaka, was avenging his mother’s death.
- Mr Enanga said Nakalyango and Nakasagga were sexually assaulted and thereafter hacked to death.
Police have arrested a suspect behind the hacking to death of five family members in Masaka District last week.
The Police say the suspect, who is a nephew to a traditional healer, Emmanuel Mutesasira Ssalongo in Buwunga Sub-county in Masaka, was avenging his mother’s death.
“The information we are getting shows that this could have been a revenge attack…he [the suspect] attacked this uncle to avenge the death of his mother whom he claims the uncle bewitched and killed two years back,” police spokesperson Fred Enanga told journalists in Kampala yesterday.
Mr Enanga said the suspect had made several attempts to attack and kill his maternal uncle.
“He was arrested while in hiding by our task teams and we continue to interrogate him further to establish whether there were any other accomplices to this murder,” he said.
The suspect allegedly killed Ssalongo, 57, and four other family members. Police identified the deceased members as Ssalongo’s wife, Proscovia Ndagaano, 52; daughter Beatrice Nakalyango 13; and two grandchildren Shivan Nakasagga,5, and Robert Kayemba,2.
Mr Enanga said Nakalyango and Nakasagga were sexually assaulted and thereafter hacked to death.
“We obtained samples from them (Nakalyango and Nakasagga) and also other samples from the scene that wi help place the suspect at the scene of crime,” he said.
According to sources, Ssalongo and his family were attacked on Saturday morning and hacked to death.
The incident happened in Kijonjo Village, Kamwoozi Parish,Buwunga Sub-county.
According to neighbours, the attackers raided the victims’ home at 2am when neighbours had converged at Kamwoozi,the next village, for last funeral rites (olumbe) and could hardly respond to the alarms.
Survivors
Other family members including Ms Beatrice Nakintu, Ms Phiona Nagirinya and Ms Sharon Nabazannyi survived the attack because they had spent the night at the vigil.
The death of this family of five brought back discussions of machete-wielding attacks that occurred in Masaka Sub-region between July and September 2021. At least 26 people were killed while 14 were injured in the attacks.
The attackers who were hitting their victims with blunt objects on the head used to strike between 6pm and 8pm, taking advantage of the Covid-19 curfew.
