.By Naboth Isaac Niwagaba
Police in Kabale have arrested a 47-year-old man who ate rat poison after he cut his wife to death and attempted to kill his own son.
The suspect has been identified as Wilber Sigyirenda, while the deceased is Phiona Asiimwe both residents of Kacerere village in Kacerere Ward, Ryakarimira Town Council.
The couple had reportedly reunited after two months of separation over marriage conflicts.
After eating supper last night, Sigyirenda reportedly found Asiimwe in the bedroom, cut her several times on the neck using a panga, and left her on their maternal bed only after he confirmed that she was completely lifeless.
Immediately, the suspect went ahead to cut his own son from another wife for yet to be known reasons. The son reportedly survived narrowly after the father missed his target and the panga caught him slightly on the head.
According to LC.3 Chairperson Canon Enock Kazooba, after committing the crimes, Sigyirenda, either out of anxiety or fear, ate rat poison to end his life, but the process was slow and he decided to run away, though it was too late and neighbors who heard the alarm made by the victims intercepted him.
He was arrested and handed over to Ryakarimira Police Post, and later transferred to Rubaya Health Centre IV after his condition deteriorated because of the rat poison he ate.
Kazooba explained that Kabale Police was notified through the Officer in Charge of Crime Investigations Joel Ntabu and by the time of filing this story, Scene Of Crime Officers had arrived at the home of the suspect to carry on Postmortem and further inquiries.
Kazooba further explained that the Asiimwe, now deceased, was the second wife to Sigyirenda and she had mothered six children with him.
This is the second murder case fuelled by Domestic Violence from Ryakarimira Town Council in less than four months.
On 16th April 2021, Evas Nkwasa 45, her two sons Isaac Kiiza and Barnet Niwamanya connived to kill the husband Bosco Niwagaba 35, all residents of Kigarama B of Hamuhambo Ward, Ryakarimira Town Council. Ms. Nkwasa was already a mother to the two boys before she married Bosco.
The victim was hit on the head with a hand hoe. This was after a fight erupted between the married couple over money they had collected from a bar they jointly owned near their home in Kigarama Trading Centre.
Canon Kazooba attributes Domestic violence in Ryakarimira Town Council to idleness and marijuana smoking.
“We have a problem of men, both young and old, spending a lot of time in playing games of chance and smoking marijuana. When they usually lose money in playing cards and sports betting, they usually resort to beating wives at home demanding for more money,” said Kazooba.
He cautioned residents against considering bloodshed as a means of settling marriage disputes and advised them to always seek for legal assistance or counselling in case of long-time conflicts.
