By APN Reporter
apearlnews.com
Police in Rukungiri, Kigezi, are currently investigating the perplexing circumstances surrounding the untimely demise of Elias Bakamuzara, a 30-year-old bodaboda rider hailing from Rutooma Ruganda Rwamujura in Mitooma district.
The incident came to light when Ambrose Twemurikye, a 25-year-old saloon attendant at Rwamuzura in Mitooma district, disclosed the events that transpired before Bakamuzara’s unfortunate fate.
Elly Maate, the Kigezi regional police says that Twemurikye explained that he had accompanied Bakamuzara on a trip to Rukungiri, arriving in the town around 3:00 PM. Bakamuzara, he stated, had mentioned his intention to visit his girlfriend without disclosing her name or exact location.
The two friends had agreed that after their shopping expedition, Twemurikye would call Bakamuzara. However, despite making three attempts to contact him, Twemurikye received no response.
The first call was answered with a promise to return, but subsequent calls went unanswered, with Bakamuzara’s phone ultimately being switched off. Alarmed by his friend’s sudden disappearance, Twemurikye hired a different motorcycle to return to Mitooma, where he informed local residents and the motorcycle owner, Mwesigye Benard, of the situation.
Working together with the local authorities and utilizing tracking technology, the motorcycle was eventually recovered on October 18, 2023, around 10:00 AM.
Maate says that the motorcycle was found in the possession of Turyatunga Moses, the area chairperson of Kigango Village, Ndago Parish, Nyarushanje Subcounty. Moses claimed to have received the motorcycle from a resident named Kyarikunda Justina.
Justina recounted that the motorcycle had been brought to her home by her grandson, Kwikiriza Benson, and an unidentified individual on the morning of October 17, 2023. Concerned about the circumstances and the sudden disappearance of the two, Justina handed over the motorcycle to the authorities.
The recovered motorcycle was then turned in at Central Police station Rukungiri, marked with SD reference 51/18/10/2023, while police initiated an inquiry into the disappearance of its rider.
The mystery deepened on October 23, 2023, at approximately 9:00 AM when Agatha Kenganzi, a local resident, made a grim discovery while tending to her garden near Kabanguha River in Kaitumura cell, Northern B ward, Eastern division, Rukungiri Municipality . She found an unidentified body in the river and promptly alerted her husband, Kabigumira Obed, who, in turn, informed David Tumwesigye, the Mayor of the Eastern division. The police at central police station Rukungiri was notified to manage the situation.
Upon reaching the scene of the crime, law enforcement officers examined and documented the area.
The lifeless body was recovered and transferred to Rwakabengo Health Center III for a postmortem examination to determine the cause of death. A strong rope was discovered tied around the neck of the deceased, suggesting possible strangulation.
