Police have launched investigations into the murder of a boy who had been kidnapped from his home in Mubende District, with the child's body later recovered from a pit latrine.
According to Lameck Kigozi, the spokesperson for the Wamala Region Police, the case was first reported on March 9, 2026, at the police station in Mubende by Eric Baingana, a resident of Nalutete Village.
Baingana told police that his son, Daniel Kazungu, aged 4, had gone missing during the night.
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Police said the father woke up at around 5am to prepare his children for school and realized that the boy was missing from his bed.
He also discovered that the back door of the house had been left open while the rest of the family members were still asleep, raising suspicion that someone had broken into the home and taken the child.
"The father reported that when he woke up to prepare his children for school, he discovered that the four-year-old boy was missing and the back door of the house had been left open, suggesting that the child had been taken by an unknown person," Kigozi said.
Preliminary investigations later revealed that the suspected kidnapper contacted the child's father and demanded a ransom of Shs6 million in exchange for the boy's release.
Police said the family managed to raise Shs1 million, which they sent to the suspect in the hope of securing the child's safe return.
However, investigators later discovered that the suspect had already killed the child before receiving the ransom money.
Security agencies subsequently launched a joint operation involving the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence and the Flying Squad Unit of the police to track down the suspect.
The operation led to the arrest of Emmanuel Muwanguzi in the Kansanga area of Kampala.
"Our joint team successfully tracked the suspect to Kansanga where he was arrested, and during interrogation he confessed to kidnapping and killing the child," Kigozi said.
Police said the suspect, who is a resident of Kisonde Village in Mubende District, admitted to dumping the child's body in a pit latrine belonging to Rwabutarye Frank in Nalutete Village.
A team from the police Fire and Rescue Services later retrieved the body from the pit latrine before transporting it to Mubende Regional Referral Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
Police confirmed that the suspect has since been charged with murder and will be presented before court as investigations continue.
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"The suspect has been charged with murder and will be produced before court to answer to the charges as investigations proceed," Kigozi said.
Authorities have urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activities in their communities as security agencies continue efforts to combat crime in the region.
