Man accused of foul play speaks out after missing wife is found

Sharon Natukunda was found on Monday in Kiteezi, after going missing for almost a month.
A man who was accused of foul play in the disappearance of his wife after she went missing from their marital home last month has broken the silence.
On December 16, 2024, Sharon Natukunda went missing from the family home in Ntinda, Kigoowa, where she lived with her husband, Richard Nkusa, and their children.
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The family of Natukunda accused Nkusa of foul play in her disappearance.
On Monday, Natukunda who was missing for almost a month was found alive at Kabaga -Kayanga a village in Kitezi parish Kasangati division in Wakiso district.
Speaking to Nile Post on Tuesday, Nkusa dismissed allegations by his wife’s family that he was behind the disappearance.
“It is unfortunate that these allegations were made by my wife’s family and led to my detention for two weeks. It is good the truth has come out that I didn’t have a hand in her disappearance,” Nkusa said in an interview.
“Had I had a hand in her disappearance, I wouldn’t have parted with Shs3 million like I have done going towards private investigators to look for my wife.”
The problems
Natukunda’s family last year said she had suffered postpartum psychosis, a severe mental health condition that can affect new mothers.
This condition is characterized by confusion, hallucinations, mood swings, and disorganized thinking or behavior. The family revealed that this condition reportedly strained the couple's relationship, with Nkusa allegedly mistreating his wife.
Speaking to this website , Nkusa said her wife’s problems started shortly after their honeymoon.
“She started developing signs of depression, She would say she is seeing people in the ceiling and other things. I called her parents and informed them of the matter and they took her on for six months. We thought it was effects of pregnancy that would go but it only escalated,” Nkusa said.
The public health specialist explained that his in-laws took the wife to different pastors for prayers but problem only exacerbated, prompting him to seek services of a professional counselor.
He said the counselor referred them to a psychiatrist, prompting him to get one from Mengo Hospital.
“The psychiatrist put my wife on treatment and asked me to pay for lessons for her parents so they could be taught how to handle this situation. I paid the money and they were taught. My wife took the medication with the help of her parents for a few months before she abandoned the same.”
Nkusa adds,” All the time she was on medication, she was fine but as soon as my in-laws sided with her to abandon medication, depression returned.”
He explained that his wife has gone missing for over five times in the past, adding that at all times, he never reported the matter to police since he was sure she would be brought back by the parents.
Nkusa says this was the case when Natukunda went missing in December but said it hurt him when his in-laws accused him of foul play.
“On this occasion, I came home and found my two children in the house alone when she had gone away. I tried to inquire from my in-laws but said they were not with her. I decided to take the children to my ancestral village in Masaka.”
He explains that his in-laws would now tell him they wanted their daughter dead or alive and later reporting the matter to police leading to his arrest.
Nkusa however says since the wife has now been recovered, it is high time both families sat to resolve the problem.
“I ask my in-laws that we can sit and devise means to ensure my wife finishes the dose so that she gets back to normal. The past experience has shown whenever she didn’t take medicine, the situation would go wrong. We need to solve this problem for once and for all,” the public health specialist urged.