Kitgum police are pursuing the proprietor of a drinking joint for her alleged murder of her client following a disagreement over Shillings 500. The incident reportedly occurred at Lapok-Moo trading centre in Lacen Otinga village, Akara parish in Mucwini sub county on Wednesday evening.

The deceased has been identified as Ponsiano Onek, a resident of Juba village while the suspect is Filder Acan. Geoffrey Oguti, the Mucwini sub county LC 5 councilor says Acan stabbed the deceased for persistently demanding his balance of Shillings 500 after buying crude alcohol.

Quoting eyewitnesses, Oguti says the deceased who hails from the same clan with the suspect entered the bar and handed Acan a note of 2000 Shillings and ordered for a drink of 1500 Shillings. It is alleged that upon getting drunk, the deceased retreated to his home only to return later demanding his balance of Shillings 500 in vain leading to a fierce fight with the suspect.

The deceased was escorted to his home by his colleagues but returned shortly after claiming that he had forgotten his shoes in the bar, a claim the suspect disputed and stabbed him with a kitchen knife on the left side in the abdomen. According to Oguti, Onek was rushed to Mucwini health center III where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Oguti says the suspect later handed herself to the local authority and clan leaders as local residents attempted to lynch her but she later escaped from safe custody last night.

The Aswa river region police spokesperson, Patrick Jimmy Okema says the postmortem indicates that the deceased succumbed to over bleeding after suffering a 4cm stab wound to the heart.

He says a case of murder by stabling has been registered under CRB 518/20 at Kitgum central police station as they the pursuit for the suspect is ongoing.