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The arrests were made on October 8, 2024
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By Our Reporter
NTUNGAMO - Police in Ntungamo District have arrested three suspects in connection with the kidnapping and brutal murder of a toddler and a woman. The victims have been identified as 1-year-10-month-old Ariho Elijah, a resident of Omukibale Cell, Nyakyera Subcounty in Ntungamo District, and Mellon Ainembabazi, a resident of Nyakishenyi Subcounty in Rukungiri District.
The suspects in custody are Innocent Namanya, a businessman and resident of Kirera Cell, Rwoho Town Council in Ntungamo District, and the father of the deceased child; Janepher Nuwahereza, an Apostle at Healers Church Ministry Karama and Namanya's second wife; and Alex Mutesigensi, a boda boda rider. The arrests were made on October 8, 2024.
According to Samson Kasasira, the Rwizi Region Police Spokesperson, the incident was reported on October 6, 2024, by Create Natukunda, the mother of the deceased child. She reported that her child, Elijah Ariho, was kidnapped by a woman she only knew by face while at Kahaija Church of Nazarene in Akatojo, Nyakyera Town Council, and taken to an unknown location.
Investigations led to the identification of the kidnapper as Mellon Ainembabazi, who had allegedly been hired by the child's father, Namanya, to carry out the abduction. However, Ainembabazi resisted handing the child over to Mutesigensi, the boda boda rider, after realizing that the plan was to kill the child. Instead, she took the child to her home in Nyakishenyi, Rukungiri District. When the other suspects realized that Ainembabazi was no longer cooperating with their plan, they decided to eliminate her.
Kasasira explained that on the day after the kidnapping, the suspects, using a Toyota Premio with registration number UBL 783W, driven by Namanya, went to Ainembabazi’s home and abducted both her and the child. While in the car, the suspects killed Ainembabazi, packed her body in a sack filled with stones, and threw it into the waters of Kanyehunde. They then killed the child, tied his body with clothes, attached a heavy stone, and dumped him in the same waters. Both bodies were later retrieved.
Omubangizi Muslims, the defense secretary of Omukibale Cell, revealed that Namanya and Natukunda had a history of domestic violence, and their case had been taken to court prior to the murders. He described the incident as tragic. Kasasira noted that the suspects will be charged in court after the investigations are completed.
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