Man strangles wife to death after she confronted him for defiling their 13 year old daughter

Residents of Bikurungu town in Rukungiri district were on Saturday still in shock after a disgraced family man strangled his wife.

The grievous act comes on the heels of his wife accusing him of defiling the couple's 13-year-old biological daughter.   

Police say out of humiliation, family man Ramadhan Tumwebonire, 30, allegedly strangled his wife, Emilly Kyarikunda, 27, following an abomination at their home. 

Tumwebonire had moments before allegedly defiled his own daughter, who is a P5 pupil. Enraged by the act, the wife confronted Tumwebonire and during an exchange, the man grabbed her neck and within no time, she breathed her last.  

According to Kigezi Police region spokesperson Elly Maate, the incident has been recorded as murder by strangulation and aggravated defilement on file number CRB 800/2023. 

The incident happened on Thursday, June 08, 2023, at about 5:00pm at Bikurungu town cell, Central ward. 

Maate said the deceased, a businesswoman in the town, had received a visitor at their home and while preparing dinner, she decided to send her daughter, a pupil of Centenary Primary School to pick banana leaves in their plantation.  

It emerged later that the father, now a suspect, followed the daughter to the plantation and allegedly had carnal knowledge with her. 

It is alleged that after the act, the suspect warned the victim against telling anyone. 

“However, when she reached home, she informed the mother, who out of anger, asked the husband what he had done to their daughter,” Maate said.

Police say preliminary findings indicate that not to alert everyone at the home, the suspect allegedly took the wife aside to the main house, leaving behind other children and a visiting sister, only identified as Sheillah, who had come from Ruhinda sub-county.  

However, after a long wait, the visiting Auntie was alarmed when she saw Tumwebonire return alone and out of curiosity, she asked him about the whereabouts of the deceased. 

Tumwebonire, however, told Sheillah that he did not know where his wife was, which alarmed her and drove her to check in the house only to find Kyarikunda lying dead. 

Sheillah immediately tipped an immediate neighbour, Paddy Ashaba, who also checked inside the house and saw the body and immediately traced the suspect and grabbed him.  

He dragged him up to Bikurungu Police post and informed the officers on duty what he had allegedly committed and was detained. 

Police later reached the scene and conveyed the body to Rwakabengo Health Centre III for postmortem. 

The defilement victim was also taken to Rukungiri Police health centre III for examination as inquiries continued.