Police statement on the murder of Dr Agaba Catherine by security guard

The task team built on clues surrounding the subsequent conduct of the local guard, called Obangakene Ronald, a 24 year old male adult, 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.

The scene was reconstructed and the events leading to the horrific murder established as follows; on the 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. 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

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 from.

We want to inform the public that this is a premeditated and straight forward case of murder, with revenge and theft as the motivation. The task team is now focusing on the facts and physical evidence, to establish whether the suspect worked alone or with some other accomplices. We want to commend the task team for their efforts thus far, as we express our sympathies to members of the bereaved family.

We also want to use this opportunity, the fact that the incident occurred within a perimeter wall, to call for increased vigilance and neighbourhood watch, which are force multipliers in the fight against crime. The police will continue partnering with the community to promote target hardening initiatives like; private CCTV cameras, formal patrols, use of phone trees, Whatsapp platforms and use of environmental designs, because of the positive impact they make in securing our communities.

We also want to appeal to all landlords and property owners, to ensure thorough vetting and background checks are conducted before hiring security guards. In this instance, the suspect was handpicked, as a local guard, without undergoing any rigorous background checks, and training on guard duties and related responsibilities.

More updates to this statement will be availed, progressively.