Two bodies recovered in septic tank, one missing

Police detectives are investigating the suspected killing of  two people, whose remains were found in a septic tank at a residence in Ssimbwa Zone, Rubaga Division, Kampala City.

Yesterday, police recovered a decomposed body suspected to be of a man in the septic tank just three days after the body of Patrick Turyasingura was recovered from the same tank.

Turyasingura went missing on January 25 around the same period Geoffrey Duku, a security guard at the residence, also disappeared.

Duku is yet to be found and his mobile phones have since been turned off.

Police also revealed that another person, Roland Akandida, went missing in the same house in December 2020 and has not been seen since.

Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire yesterday confirmed the recovery of the two bodies, saying one had decomposed and it is difficult to identify without using forensic science.

“The forensic experts and pathologists are doing their best to establish whether the recovered bones are for Akandida. They are also investigating the cause of their death. Another team is searching for Duku. We do not know whether he is alive or not,” Mr Owoyesigyire said.

The whereabouts of the owner of the house where the bodies were found, a timber dealer in Ndeeba, Kampala, are still unknown.

Police said they attempted to reach him on his phone, but all his contacts were switched off.

Police added that the disappearances in the house started in December 2020 when Akandida went missing.

A case was reported to Kabowa Police Station by the workers, but it was not investigated.

On January 25, a missing person report for Turyasingura was filed by his cousin, who is a medical officer.

Mr Owoyesigyire said Turyasingura’s cousin was arrested on January 26 after detectives found gaps in his narrative.

Police said Turyasingura, the medical officer, and Akandida are said to be related to the owner of the house.

According to police, the  wife of the owner of the house visited the site on January 29 and opened the septic tank where she found a body.

“She informed the police. We held her to help us with the investigations. Then a team was sent to search the septic tank and found the body of Turyasingura,” Mr Owoyesigyire said.

The police returned the next day, drained the septic tank and discovered the second body.

Mr Godwin Okello, a caretaker of the residence, told Daily Monitor that police only recovered the bones of the second victim.

When the Daily Monitor newspaper visited the residence in Kabowa yesterday, it was deserted, but no one except police officers were allowed to access it.

Background

Septic tank cases

Incidents of people being murdered and dumped in the sceptic tank are rising in the country.

Last year, four incidents including one in which  the body of Mary Blessing Asio was found in a septic tank at their family residence at Munonyo on Kaggwa Rise, were reported.

The recovery of the body of Asio led to the arrest and charging of her husband Francis Onebe with murder. Onebe is a city accountant.

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