Man kills brother in law after a wrangle with wife over PDM money

A Senior Six student of Bulucheke Secondary School in Bududa district has been murdered in cold blood allegedly by his in-law.

Reports indicate that on Sunday afternoon (May 21, 2023), Andrew Watetela, 21, a resident of Bumakita parish in Nalwanza sub-county, Bududa district, visited Samuel Mashetsa, his in-law, together with his girlfriend and the duo was warmly welcomed into the house.

Shortly after, Mashetsa allegedly returned with a panga and hacked Watetela to death. 

It is alleged that Watetela's girlfriend, Vivian Wabuyaka, who is a student at Nabumali High School, survived the ordeal with serious injuries.

According to information from the neighbours who were at the scene of the crime, Mashetsa had allegedly wrangled with his wife over her refusal to give him a share of the Parish Development Model (PDM).

The wife allegedly fled her marital home to Kenya where she is living over the wrangle.

Mashetsa, who has been living alone for close to two months, was allegedly bitter with all his in-laws whom he suspected to have advised their sister to flee to Kenya.

Peter Wamboko, who was one of the people who rescued Wabuyaka, said they found when Mashetsa was hacking her in the face. Wamboko said when he grabbed the machete from Mashetsa, the suspect fled from the scene.

The residents later rushed Wabuyaka to White House medical clinic in Bunamubi trading centre.

Bukigai sub-county LC3 chairperson Richard Wambete said the incident happened at the time he was at the burial of his relative.

He said they were now on the ground to rescue the houses of the neighbours from angry members of the deceased's family.

Bududa LC5 chairperson Milton Kamoti Wasunguyi condemned the suspect for taking the law into his hands.

He also condemned those who had started burning and destroying the property of the suspect and appealed to the Police to mount a search so as to see the suspect apprehended and arraigned in the courts of law.

Bulucheke Secondary School headteacher Edward Mukhwana said Watetela was their best student in the 2020 Uganda Certificate of Examinations and they had hope that he would ace the national exams again.

He was offering a combination of BCM/ICT. 

By press time, the body of the deceased had been taken by Police to Bududa Hospital for a postmortem and the injured girl was transferred to the same hospital.

The relatives of the deceased attempted to burn two houses owned by the suspect and his parents and destroyed all the property together with their crops as a retaliation to the murder.

This is the third murder that the sub-county has registered in four months and has left the residents worried.