UPDF soldier found strangled in rice field, father killed by son with hoe
What you need to know:
- Both incidents have rattled local communities and come amid concerns over the 2024 police crime report, which showed at least 26 Ugandans were murdered each day during the year.
Authorities are investigating two separate suspected homicides in Uganda’s eastern region—one involving a serving Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier allegedly strangled to death, and another in which a man is accused of killing his father with a hoe.
In Kibuku District, police have launched a murder investigation after Corporal Jackson Bankunda, a 60-year-old UPDF soldier attached to Bombo Army Barracks, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in his rice garden early Wednesday.
“It is alleged that on May 14, 2025, at around 4:00 a.m., the deceased left home to his rice garden to scare away birds, as he routinely did, accompanied by his six-year-old granddaughter,” said Wilfred Kyempasa, spokesperson for Bukedi North Regional Police.
Later that morning, Bankunda’s wife reportedly went to check on them and found their granddaughter alone, birds swarming over the unattended rice field. At the far end of the garden, she discovered her husband lying dead.
“The deceased was discovered at the far end of the rice field, and it is suspected he may have been strangled to death by unknown persons,” Mr Kyempasa noted.
Police visited the scene and documented evidence, while statements from witnesses were recorded. The body was taken to Kibuku Mortuary for a postmortem examination to confirm the exact cause of death.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing and have urged the public to remain calm as inquiries continue.
Son arrested over allegedly killing father
Meanwhile, in nearby Budaka District, a 25-year-old man has been arrested over allegedly killing his father in Busikwe Village, Katira Sub-county, on the same day.
The suspect, Denis Galandi, reportedly approached a neighbour and told her to come and witness what he had done to his father, Moses Nghangha, 71.
“When she entered the deceased’s house, she found him lying in a pool of blood in the sitting room,” Mr Kyempasa said.
The neighbour raised an alarm, prompting residents to respond. Galandi was apprehended and handed over to police at Kerekerene Post before being transferred to Kibuku Central Police Station for further handling.
A team of officers, including a Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO), recovered a hoe believed to have been the murder weapon. The body was transferred to Mbale City Mortuary for postmortem as investigations continue.
Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the alleged patricide, but Mr Kyempasa confirmed that “a full investigation is underway.”
Both incidents have rattled local communities and come amid concerns over the 2024 police crime report, which showed at least 26 Ugandans were murdered each day during the year.
