Postmortem Rules Out Suicide, Reveals 12-Year-Old Kasese Boy Was Strangled

Postmortem Rules Out Suicide, Reveals 12-Year-Old Kasese Boy Was Strangled

Kigezi regional police spokesperson, Elly Maate.

A 12-year-old boy in Kasese District who was found hanging in his room was strangled before his body was staged to appear as a suicide, according to police investigations.

A 12-year-old boy whose death initially appeared to be suicide was murdered and his body staged to resemble a hanging, a postmortem examination has revealed.

Dan Mumbere, a Primary School pupil from Rwenguba Village in Bwera Sub-county, Kasese District, was found hanging inside his room on Tuesday evening after his family spent hours searching for him.

Police investigations indicate that the boy was strangled before his body was suspended using a piece of cloth, ruling out suicide.

Rwenzori East Regional Police spokesperson ASP Elly Maate said the postmortem examination established that the child died from strangulation and that investigators were now working to identify the motive and persons behind the killing.

“The postmortem examination established that the child was strangled before being hanged. Investigations are now focused on establishing the motive, who committed the murder and why the scene was disguised as suicide,” Maate said.

According to police, Mumbere was last seen at about 11:00am on August 4 while playing with other children in the neighbourhood.

His father and stepmother had left him at home before he disappeared. When his father returned at about 5pm and found him missing, relatives and neighbours launched a search.

Later in the evening, the family sent the deceased’s seven-year-old sister to check whether his clothes were still in his room.

Instead, she found his body hanging from a window using a piece of cloth commonly used to tie jerrycans while fetching water.

Police officers from Bwera Police Station, together with homicide detectives and Scene of Crime Officers, visited the scene and documented evidence before the body was taken to Bwera Hospital for a postmortem examination.

The postmortem examination found injuries consistent with strangulation, including trauma to the neck and signs of pressure applied before death. Police said the findings ruled out suicide by hanging and indicated that the child had been killed before his body was staged.

Police said Mumbere had been living with his stepmother for about 17 months, while his biological mother resides in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the child had previously lived.

Maate said detectives had recorded statements from the complainant and other witnesses as investigations continued.

“Our detectives have recorded statements from the complainant and other witnesses, and inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding this murder,” he said.

The body has since been handed over to the family for burial. Police had not announced any arrests by press time.