Police and other security agencies on Monday (22nd April, 2019) recovered the body of International Hospital Kampala (IHK) doctor Catherine Agaba, who had been missing for days.
Ms Agaba’s body was found in a septic tank at her rented home, at Kalungu Road, Muyenga, in Kampala District.
Police spokesperson CP Fred Enanga said the body was found following the arrest of a local guard, Ronald Rubangakene, 24, who disappeared after the victim, went missing.
“He was tracked down and arrested in his home village, Adyeda, Loro sub county, Oyam District, where upon interrogation, he confessed to the murder and provided details, which led to the recovery of the victim’s body,” Fred Enanga said in a statement on Monday.
Police has established that on 12th April, 2019, the victim returned home at around 8:30 pm, to a quiet and remote setting, at the apartments of Hajji Ibrahim Kiwanuka. It is then that she was attacked inside the gate, by the local security guard, who accused her of threatening his job, when she reported him for not being alert on duty to his employers.
“He strangled her to death and dumped her body in the septic tank. He, immediately after, picked her house keys, smart phone and gained access to her apartment, where he stole several portable household items and escaped to Oyam district by bus. The disappearance of the victim was reported at Kabalagala police station on the 15th, April, 2019, by her boyfriend, Mohammed Hassan and inquiries instituted immediately,” Fred Enanga said.
Upon arrest, the suspect led the task team to his sister’s home where the exhibits that included; a home theatre music system, a 32” Flat TV screen, a laptop, GoTV decoder, double –plate cooker, gas cylinder, flask disk and a smart phone were recovered.
Police says, this is a premeditated and straight forward case of murder, with revenge and theft as the motive.
Further investigations into the case, according to Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga, are ongoing.
Dr Agaba disappeared on April 13, 2019 after she had asked for annual leave from her workplace at IHK.
Several messages from her friends, workmates and loved ones circulated on Social Media to find her but were all in vain until police recovered her body on Monday.
Police had earlier arrested several suspects including fellow doctors in Dr Agaba’s disappearance. These according the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango, will remain in police detention until it is confirmed that they had no connection in the murder.
“We are still holding them as investigations continue. If we find that they had a connect to the murder, we shall charge them in court. If they are innocent, then they will be set free,” Onyango said.
Dr. Agaba’s body was taken to hospital for postmortem.