Jinja — The mutilated body of a 25-year-old man, with its private parts and the tongue missing, was on Saturday found locked in a house in Jinja in what is suspected to be a ritual murder.

Edwin Kiiza's body was recovered early morning after neighbours detected a foul smell coming from his house in Mawoito, Kakira Town Council prompting them to call the Police.

The employee of Kakira Sugar Works, had been reported missing to Police on Thursday, days after relatives and friends failed to trace his whereabouts. He had been missing for a week when his body was discovered.

"His relatives went to Kakira Police Station to make a missing persons claim after they gave up hope of finding him," Jinja District Police commander John Cohen Arinaitwe said.

"The padlock at his door had been changed and it looked as if the former one had been forced open. So we suspect that whoever committed this act must have done it from another location and then stealthily relocated the body to his house and changed the locks," he added.

The young man had been living alone after separating with his wife over a domestic misunderstanding.

Although no suspect has been arrested yet, Police say they have in their possession crucial particulars that could result in the arrest of the perpetrators of the crime.