Police are hunting a man on charges of aggravated assault after burning his wife with boiling beans in Makindye division, a Kampala city suburb.
The suspect has been identified as Richard Waligo a resident of Kamwanyi zone, Nsambya Central-Makindye Division in Kampala, who poured a full saucepan of boiling beans on his wife, suspecting infidelity in their marriage.
The victim, Estah Namwasa, a mother of five, is nursing 3rd-degree burns of her back, legs and arms, at Good Care Clinic in Nsambya.
From her sickbed, she told this radio that they had a fight on the night of March 05, 2022, when she confronted the husband for being irresponsible and failing to cater for their children. This, she said, angered Waligowho in return accused her of having other affairs.
On the following after the night fight, Namwasa said her husband made an abrupt visit to her restaurant, where he found two male customers who were playing cards.
In anger, Waligo started another fight, before lifting boiling beans from the fire and poured them at her from the back.
The victim was assisted by the area locals who rushed her to the nearby clinic in bad condition. She says after burning her, the husband made off with her phone and the money she had saved in the day.
Her neighbor Christine Dongo, who is her caregiver, said Namwasa’s husband was heard claiming that he was tired of taking care of children he wasn’t the biological father of.
Badiru Mbabali the area chairperson, who condemned the act of attempted murder. He said there is a rise in cases of domestic violence mostly in slum areas of Kampala.
Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police spokesperson, said the case is under investigation by Kabalagala Police station and the hunt for the suspect is ongoing, for him to face charges of aggravated assault once apprehended.
According to the 2020 crime report compiled by the Criminal Investigations Directorate-CID, domestic violence was registered as the third most committed crime with 17,664 cases compared to 13,639 cases in 2019. These cases were mainly caused by disputes over family property, failure to provide for the family, drugs and alcohol abuse, and cases of infidelity.
The victim who is being assisted by neighbors is calling on Good Samaritan to come to her rescue for better medical treatment.
source urn
