Police have nabbed the third prime suspect implicated in the murder of Dr Jino Abiriga, the former District Health Officer for Masindi.
The late Abiriga was killed on January 7, 2024, and his body was dumped 50 metres from his house. The suspect is called Joshua Namureng, a resident of Tarobya village, Amanang Sub County, Bukwo.
This now brings the total number of suspects to three, including Betty Cherotic, a wife to the deceased, and Martin Kipsang, alias Chesebe, a carpenter from Roruk village in Bukwo District. The trio conspired and murdered the doctor.
The facts gathered indicate that the couple started staying together as husband and wife in 2019 and were blessed with a nine-month-old baby after the loss of their firstborn and the miscarriage of twins. It was established that the plot to murder the deceased began after Cherotic learnt about a second relationship her husband had with Susan Atuhura in Masindi. As a result, she hatched a plot to kill her; the first attempt was by setting fire to her house, which was put off by the neighbours.
On December 11, 2023, she hired Kipsang at a cost of Shs2.5 million to help her kill her co-wife, and on December 18, 2023, the suspect Kipsang travelled to Masindi after receiving a deposit of Shs500,000 to kill Atuhura Suzan. The murder plot failed after the intended victim failed to appear at the location that they expected her to be.
It was as a result of the two failed murder plots against her co-wife that she shifted and plotted to murder her husband, whom he accused of the death of their firstborn, the miscarriage of their twins, and for constantly insulting her as a bad performer sexually. She therefore, tasked Kipsang to find a second person to help her murder her husband. On December 26, 2023, Kipsang and Namureng came to accomplish their mission, which failed after the doctor woke up and closed the door upon hearing some movements outside that had been left open by his wife.
The two contracted killers returned to Bukwo and returned on January 6, 2024, after much pressure from Chesang for them to execute their mission. They travelled from Bukwo, reached Masindi, and booked at Valentine Guest House.
She alerted them and invited them to the house when her husband was asleep. The suspects were armed with two huge hoe sticks and a knife. They found gate opened, she led them to the bedroom, where her husband was sleeping. They hit the victim with a hand hoe stick on the head and dragged the body to the floor, where they slit his throat with a knife, killing him instantly.
The three suspects cleaned the dead body, dressed it in red T-shirt and blue trousers, carried it on a small ladder, and dumped it 50 metres away from his house. The two male suspects returned to Valentine Guest House, where they dumped the blood-stained clothes in a pit latrine and left.
Both Martin Kipsang and Joshua Namureng were tracked down, arrested in Bukwo, and transferred to Masindi for further court action. All three suspects admitted to having participated in the murder, and the scenes were reconstructed.
Several tangible exhibits were recovered, which included two hoe handles recovered from the Bulyasojo cell, shoes of the deceased, a black sports bag, clothes of the suspect, a bag retrieved from the latrine with a pillow cover, a mopping rug, a work ID for the deceased, and other blood-stained clothes. All samples were submitted to the Forensic Directorate for further analysis.
