Police in Buikwe District have recovered the body of Joseph Ndawula, a resident of Namulesa Village, Ngogwe Sub-county in Buikwe District, who went missing more than a month ago.
The body was discovered on Sunday, buried in a shallow grave next to his house. The police arrested three suspects in connection with the murder of Ndawula. During interrogation, one of the suspects reportedly implicated the two others in the crime.
‘The trio later led the police to a place behind his house where they had buried the remains,’ a statement released by the Ssezibwa Police Spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto, on Sunday reads in part.
Mr Fred Ntulume, a resident of Namulesa Village, told this publication that they started looking for Ndawula in October, about two weeks after he went missing.
One of the suspects, a casual worker, reportedly told Ndawula’s son, Mr Paul Balamuse, and other residents that the deceased had travelled to Busoga Sub-region and would return soon.
Mr Ntulume said they had earlier thought that Ndawula had gone to Koome Island. ‘But after a long time without seeing our resident back to his home, we began making further inquiries and searching for him,’ he said.
Mr Ntulume said residents of Namulesa Village had grown increasingly suspicious of one of the suspect’s behaviour and of the people who were reportedly frequenting Ndawula’s home in his company.
On November 14, the suspect reportedly sold one of Ndawula’s pigs, claiming he needed the money to send to Ndawula to help him return from Busoga.
However, the buyer, a resident of the area, became suspicious and alerted the Local Council officials and the sub-county security team.
Ndawula’s known phone number was also not available, prompting his family to file a missing person case with the police.
After police and local residents intervened, the security team broke into the missing farmer’s house on November 15. Inside, they found his national ID and a SIM card.
The team then launched a search for the key suspect, who had already gone into hiding. On November 15, the key suspect was arrested and taken to Lugazi Police Station.
It was not clear when he would be taken to court by press time. Police said they were still conducting investigations into the case. Mr Bamulese said his father was buried on Sunday after the police gave them permission to do so.