Police in Ntungamo District have arrested three suspects linked to a horrific double murder of a toddler and a woman contracted to kidnap him.
Elijah Ariho, 1, and his kidnapper Mellon Ainembabazi were both killed by the toddler's father who is alleged to have contracted the latter.
The suspects include Innocent Namanya, the father of the deceased child, Jenepher Nuwahereza, Namanya’s second wife, and Alex Mutesigensi, a boda boda rider hired to aid the crime.
The incident, which has rocked the quiet community of Omukibale Cell, Kibingo Parish, began with the kidnapping of Elijah from his mother, Create Natukunda.
The Rwizi Regional Police Spokesperson, Samson Kasasira, confirmed that Natukunda reported her son missing on Sunday, October 6, 2024, at Ntungamo Central Police Station.
“It’s alleged that Natukunda reported the kidnapping of her child, Elijah Ariho, by a woman known only by face while they were attending service at Kahaija Church of Nazaren in Akatojo, Nyakyera Town Council, Ntungamo. The kidnapper took the child to an unknown destination,” Kasasira said.
Investigations quickly pointed to Ainembabazi, who had been hired by Namanya, the child's father.
Ainembabazi was tasked with kidnapping Elijah but later discovered that the plan was to murder the child.
Upon realizing this, she refused to hand over Elijah to Alex Mutesigensi, the boda boda rider hired to transport the child.
Instead, she fled with the boy to her home in Nyakishenyi Subcounty, Rukungiri District.
The suspects, learning of Ainembabazi's attempt to foil their plan, devised another plot to kill her as well.
According to police reports, on October 7, 2024, Namanya, driving a Toyota Premio (registration number UBL 783W), travelled with Nuwahereza and Mutesigensi to Ainembabazi’s home. They retrieved both her and the child and committed the gruesome murders while in the car.
Kasasira detailed how the suspects killed Ainembabazi, packed her body into a sack, filled it with stones, and dumped it into the waters of Kanyehunde.
They then turned to young Elijah, killed him, wrapped his body in clothes, tied it to a heavy stone, and threw it into the same waters. The bodies were retrieved the following day, October 8, 2024.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the crime may have been rooted in long-standing domestic violence between Namanya and Natukunda.
Their case was reportedly already in court, adding further complexity to this tragic incident.
The community remains in shock as investigations continue, and the suspects await further legal proceedings.