Man kills father over food

Police in Lugazi Municipality, Buikwe District are investigating circumstances under which a 20-year-old man allegedly hacked his elderly father to death for denying him food.

The incident happened on Friday in Bamuganya Village, Najjembe Division. Ssezibwa Regional Police Spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto, identified the deceased as Mr Andrew Lubanga, 70.

She said Lubanga developed a misunderstanding with his son, Herbert Ssendi over food before he was killed.

Ms Butoto added that residents called police when they found the suspect trying to commit suicide after realizing that he had killed his father.

"Police arrested him and he is currently detained at Lugazi Police Station," Ms Butoto said, adding that what exactly happened between the two is shrouded in mystery, but is being investigated.

She, however, added: "It is alleged that the suspect accused his father of denying him food when he returned from an outing with friends, an exchange ensued and he fatally hit him twice with a hoe."

The suspect, she further stated, will be charged with murder. Lubanga’s body was, by press time, taken to Kawolo Hospital mortuary for an autopsy.

In another development, police in Lugazi municipality, Buikwe District have arrested a 22-year-old boda boda cyclist for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old girl who sought assistance from him.

Ms Butoto on Saturday said the suspect, who operates at the Kitega Stage along the Lugazi-Kampala Highway, is a resident of Kitega Village, Lugazi Municipal Council in Buikwe District.

The victim, a resident of Bugaya Village in Buyende District, was reportedly going to Mukono when she asked the suspect for a top up in her transport.

It's, however, unclear how she intended to get to her destination after public transport was grounded in March with boda-bodas only allowed to carry cargo.

“People at the stage became suspicious when they saw the boda-boda instead riding the girl towards his home, tipped police and caught the suspect in his house,” said Ms Butoto.

Ms Butoto appealed to parents to stop sending their children anywhere alone during this lockdown, saying it makes them vulnerable and defenceless.