Eight elderly people have been killed in the past month by relatives over the property, the Police have said.
The Police said they have, as a result, arrested 14 suspects. Subsequently, Police management has directed all commanders in the force to take a keen interest in the needs of elderly people.
Management says checking on the elderly regularly will reduce isolation and promote awareness on the dynamics surrounding their physical and emotional abuse.
The commanders have also been instructed to conduct a background check on caretakers, to help avoid staying with problematic offsprings, according to Police spokesperson Fred Enanga.
Enanga said the move is after the Criminal Investigation Directorate ( CID) homicide department took over investigations into the gruesome murder of Faridah Kabaterine, 84, a resident of Kagarame cell, Kyafura in Ntungamo district. The incident occurred on Thursday.
Investigations
Enanga said Kabaterine was hacked using a panga by a caretaker identified as Wallboard Alfred Kato aka Sama, who she had raised in the family.
Preliminary Police findings indicate that Kabaterine ’ s grandson left her alone, while still sleeping, at about 7:00 am to go and milk the cows, as it had been the routine. Enanga said the prime suspect took advantage of his absence to attack and hack her to death by her bedside.
“He dragged her body to the bathroom, opened tap water to stage the body of the victim as if she had been bathing. That after the incident, he abandoned his blood-stained clothes — a jumper, trouser, and white vest, together with the blood-stained panga. Other exhibits, were recovered from his room, ” Enanga said.
According to Enanga, the suspect was arrested from his home village in Kilisa, Rukungiri district.
So far, the prime suspect has recorded an extrajudicial statement before the magistrate, revealing his accomplices as former housemaid Judith Natukunda, 28 and daughter-in-law Sharon Kaitesi, 32, who had a land conflict with the victim, as well as disagreements on the proceeds from the sale of milk.
All three suspects are in Police custody. The exhibits recovered were transferred to the Government Analytical Laboratory for forensic analysis.
