Police in Buikwe District, Uganda are investigating circumstances under which a prison warder shot and killed his wife and a colleague.
The incident happened at around on Monday afternoon, October 31, at Bugungu Government Prison in Kanfunta, Nyenga Division in Njeru Municipal Council, Buikwe District.
Mr David Onyango, one of the leaders in the area said the warder had some domestic problems with his wife with whom they have an eight-month-old baby, but they were yet to bring the matters to the public.
“This morning we heard gunshots from the prisons and after running there, we found two dead bodies on the ground. The suspect who is a prisons warder had a misunderstanding with his wife who was also a prisons warder,” he said.
Some residents who spoke to Uganda Monitor on condition of anonymity said the man had suspected the wife of having extramarital affairs and that could have been the cause of this incident.
Ssezibwa Regional Police Spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto confirmed the incident and identified the suspect as Jacob Otim.
She identified the deceased as Eunice Abwot, 25, and Edward Namanya,30, all prison warders attached to Bugungu Prison in Buikwe District.
“The suspect has since been arrested and is under detention at Njeru Police Station as investigations continue. The bodies of the deceased have been taken to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital Mortuary for postmortem,” she added.
The Uganda Prisons Services Spokesperson, Frank Mayanja Baine, also confirmed the incident in a statement. He said the two prison officers were allegedly shot dead by Wader No 16734 Otim Jacob who later tried to commit suicide but was subdued by other staff on duty and was detained.
According to the statement, the suspect Otim signed for a gun early morning to go for general duties but headed to the sentry where he first shot dead Abwot and when her colleague Nahamya heard the bullets and rushed to check what had happened, he was also gunned down.
Baine said that the Police was immediately called in and took over the management of the crime scene and the exhibits were recovered from the scene.
He did not disclose the possible cause of this unfortunate and sad occurrence and said that further details will be availed later.
