Busia, Uganda | URN | Police in Busia district are holding one suspect, and another is on the run for allegedly murdering a three-year-old female juvenile.
The suspect has been identified as Muhwana Lawrance, and the one on the run is Edrine Bwire; both are residents of Bubolwa village in Bulumbi sub-county.
They are accused of allegedly kidnapping a three 3-year-old Evelyn Nabwire on 24th September 2026 at around 6:00 pm in Bubolwa village and demanding a ransom ranging between sh2 million and sh7 million from the parents.
David Ouma, the father of the deceased juvenile, said that his wife tried to search for the child but in vain. It was to his dismay to receive a night phone call from his neighbour, who had earlier denied seeing the child, one Edrine Bwire, demanding ransom that they were tasked to deposit on 0702488923 before they could be given the child.
According to Ouma, his neighbour Bwire started by asking for 2 million, then later increased to 7 million. He could not raise the money immediately to rescue his daughter’s life, and opted to report to the nearby police station.
He was shocked to find his daughter’s body laid in the middle of the road along the Busia-Jinja highway in Bulumbi.
The police preliminary findings indicate that the juvenile’s body has cuts across the left waist, cuts on thighs towards the private parts, cuts on the left hand and shoulder, a deep cut on the hind head, and bruises on the right knee, among others.
Moses Johnson Mugwe, the Bukedi South police spokesperson, confirmed the incident and said that they arrested one suspect and launched a manhunt for another suspect so that they can be charged with the case of child kidnapping and murder.
He appealed to whoever comes across the suspect to report to the nearest police station for arrest.
Mugwen cautioned parents to uphold their responsibilities of monitoring the movement of their children to always ascertain the condition of a given child quickly so that they can report to relevant authorities for fast intervention.
The arrested suspect was still kept in police cells at Busia central police station; the juvenile’s body was taken by police to the mortuary at Masafu General Hospital as investigations into the matter are underway.
