A chilling incident has left Jinja City residents reeling in shock, just as they are gearing up to celebrate the festive season, which has Christmas and New Year.
A 60-year-old man, identified as Swaibu Katongole, a former police informer, was brutally murdered by unknown assailants in the early hours of Wednesday,11 December 2024.
According to preliminary investigations, Katongole’s lifeless body was discovered at his family residence along Lubogo Road in Jinja City, with multiple deep cuts on the head and signs of strangulation
The killers had also dumped his body on the floor in his compound.
The Kiira Regional Police Spokesperson, SP James Mubi, revealed that two suspects (names withheld), who were casual workers at the victim’s home, have been arrested to aid in the investigation.
The youthful suspects, now at the CPS Jinja, were found with blood-stained T-shirts, indicating potential involvement in the crime.
James Mubi has described the incident as a premeditated and targeted murder, distinguishing it from previous machete-wielding attacks in the area.
The police spokesperson urged city residents to exercise extra vigilance, especially during the festive season, when criminals often seek to exploit security lapses for financial gain.
As detectives work to apprehend the perpetrators, the body of the deceased has been taken to the Jinja Regional Referral Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examinations.
This tragic incident underscores the need for a collective commitment to safety and security.
“…By working together and looking out for one another, we can build stronger, more resilient communities that are less vulnerable to crime…”, James Mubi stressed.
What You Need To Know:
Detectives, led by the Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO), have visited the crime scene and collected blood samples as part of their ongoing investigation.
The samples were forwarded to the Government Laboratory in Wandegeya for forensic examination to aid the investigation.
This is an important step forward in the investigation, as forensic analysis can provide crucial evidence to help identify suspects and piece together the events surrounding the crime.
According to experts, a premeditated and targeted murder refers to a type of homicide that is deliberately planned, intended, and carried out against a specific individual or group.
Experts say a premeditated murder involves: intent to kill where the perpetrator or perpetrators has/have a clear intention to kill the victim.
In all cases, the perpetrators plan and prepare for the murder, which may involve gathering information, acquiring weapons, or creating an opportunity to commit the crime.
There is also the issue of clear intent where the perpetrators deliberately carry out the murder, often with a level of calculation and control.
In a related sense, targeted murder involves specific victims when the perpetrators select a specific individual or group as the target of the murder.
The perpetrators are usually motivated by a specific reason or grievance against the victim, which may be personal, financial, or ideological.
The issue of focused attack when the perpetrators carry out a focused attack on the target, often with the intention of eliminating them.
In the context of this Jinja City news story, the police spokesperson described the murder as premeditated and targeted, suggesting that the perpetrators planned and intended to kill Swaib Katongole, selected him specifically as the target of the murder and carried out a deliberate and focused attack on him.
Under the Penal Code Act (PCA) of Uganda, murder is defined and penalized under Section 188 as:
“Any person who, of malice aforethought, causes the death of another person, either by doing any unlawful act or omission, or by doing any lawful act or omission without lawful excuse, but with intent to cause the death of, or to cause grievous harm to, some person, whether that person is the person actually killed or not, is guilty of murder.”
Section 189 of the Penal Code Act prescribes the penalties for murder:
“(1) Any person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to death.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person convicted of murder may be sentenced to imprisonment for life if the court, having regard to the circumstances of the case, considers that sentence to be more appropriate.”
In addition to the death penalty or life imprisonment, the court may also impose other penalties, such as:
Forfeiture of property (Section 190), compensation to the victim’s family (Section 191).
It’s worth noting that while the death penalty is still on the statute books in Uganda, the country has observed a de facto moratorium on executions since 1999.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
