Residents of Njaza village in Ssembabule district are horrified by a case in which a man attacked a family of five, hacked them to death and set their house ablaze.
28-year-old John Semanda, a casual laborer in Njaza village allegedly raided the home of Lazaro Kabooyi, on Sunday morning killed the old man with a panga. Semanda then turned his wrath on two of the old man's grand-children, 5-year-old Penina Nalwebuga and 4-year-old Jane Lubyani, and hacked them to death.
Semanda set Kabooyi's house on fire, burning the bodies the two children.He also attacked and killed Kabooyi's daughter-in-law Jane Kentaro and stabbed Kabooyi's wife three times in the abdomen.
Mrs. Kabooyi died a few minutes later of excessive bleeding.
Two of the old man's grand-children, Jimmy Kityamuwesi and Matte Kabuye, escaped from the house unhurt and raised an alarm, alerting the neighbours. The neighbours hunted down the alleged murderer and lynched him.
Semanda was found with a bottle of Waragi and two sachets of ground cannabis in his pockets.
Police arrived a little late to save the situation.
The Sembabule criminal investigations officer says that his office has recorded a significant increase in murder cases most of which are linked to land related conflicts.
