A comprehensive investigation is being conducted by a joint team consisting of the Police Crime Investigations Unit and Intelligence Officers from the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces-UPDF following a revenge attack that led to the loss of five lives in Masaka.
On Friday night, unidentified individuals forcefully entered the residence of Emmanuel Muteesasira in Kijonjo village, Buwunga sub-county, Masaka district.
All five occupants, including Muteesasira's wife and three grandchildren, were brutally attacked and killed. Local residents are drawing connections between the incident and a long-standing dispute allegedly involving Muteesasira and his nephew, Vincent Ssamula.
According to Twaha Kasirye the spokesperson for the Greater Masaka Regional Police, preliminary investigations suggest a revenge attack planned by adversaries of the deceased with the intention of ending his life.
Ssamula, who residents claim accused Muteesasira of practicing witchcraft that allegedly caused the death of his own mother a year ago, has been arrested by the police.
Kasirye says that the suspect had previously warned his uncle of a potential retaliatory assault as vengeance for the alleged witchcraft allegations. However, he denies any involvement in the crime since his apprehension.
Brigadier General Deus Sande, the Commander of the Kasijjagirwa UPDF Armoured Brigade, has expanded the scope of the investigation to encompass not only the ongoing dispute but also the accusations of witchcraft.
Beatrice Nakintu, a relative of the deceased, informed Uganda Radio Network that she was approached by unknown individuals on a motorcycle seeking directions to the same residence while she was at her home approximately two weeks ago. She suspects that these individuals could be the masterminds behind the killings.
The investigation aims to shed light on this tragic event and bring justice to the victims and their grieving family.
