26-year-old woman has been killed as she attempted to break up a fight involving her husband
A 26-year-old woman was killed on Monday as she attempted to break up a fight involving her husband.
Aisha Masibu, a vendor at Kikindu market, is said to have been hit with a stone on the head as she intervened to separate her husband from two assailants.
Police said the fight between Masibu’s husband, who is a security guard at a parking yard, and the two suspects, aged 19 and 24, ensued following a disagreement over a Shs2,000 debt from one of the clients of the parking yard.
“The two boys stormed the parking yard demanding to see one of the clients who reportedly owed them Shs2,000. The security guard attempted to block them, saying they should wait for the client from outside.
The situation escalated when the two wanted to force their way in. They started beating up the man, and when his wife tried to intervene, they hit her with a stone,” said Mr Ismail Gidudu, a boda boda rider at a nearby stage.
This publication learnt that after the fatal incident, the suspects fled to their home in Kisenyi cell, Nabuyonga Ward, leaving the security guard with serious injuries.
Residents mobilised and stormed the house in an attempt to lynch the suspects, but they were blocked by the military and police led by two Division Police Commanders (DPCs) of Mbale City Northern Division, SP Mubarak Sunday, and Mbale Central Police Station, SP Kenneth Bakashaba.
Ms Amina Namakoye, a resident, said it took security operatives nearly five hours to arrest the suspects.
“Property worth millions of shillings was destroyed while other items were looted by unidentified individuals. Some members of the mob were also seen pelting stones at the officers,” Ms Namakoye said.
Elgon Region Police Spokesperson, Rogers Taitika, said the two suspects are currently in their custody on murder charges.
“The two are accused of killing Masibu. After the incident, they fled the scene and hid in their house, but as security, we managed to rescue and arrest them. We emphasise that criminal liability is an individual responsibility. The actions of a perpetrator should not be used as justification to target or destroy the property of their guardian, parent, or any associated facility,” SP Taitika said.
Police and residents alleged that the prime suspect, only identified as Yusuf, alias Fifty Fifty, is a serial offender in the area.
Nabiyonga Zone Security Secretary, Seku Abdulkarim, said Yusuf had recently been released after serving a six-month sentence, only to resume his criminal activities.
The Assistant Resident City Commissioner of Mbale, Mr Hussein Kadimba, urged parents to control their children and be more vigilant, noting that drug abuse among youths had become a major driver of crime and violence in the city. Masibu’s body was taken to Mbale City Mortuary for a postmortem.