Fear has engulfed residents of Nsuwa zone in Katwe after machete-wielding men cut their member, Aisha Nakitende alongside her daughter Olivia Namatovu, in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Nakitende, according to neighbours, was attacked about 10 minutes to 6 am during a morning downpour. At the time of attack, Nakitende had woken up early to do laundry and was planning to attend to her food kiosk which is a kilometre from her residence.
Sharon Namubiru, a neighbour in the opposite rental, said she woke up at 5:45 am to collect water as it had started pouring but found Nakitende already on her veranda washing clothes. Uganda Radio Network found three basins filled with the clothes Nakitende was washing minutes before she was attacked.
When Nakitende was sighted in the trench just opposite her home, the locals decided to alert her daughter since the house was open. To their shock, they found Namatovu also in a pool of blood-fighting for her life just like the mother.
“I looked at my phone and it was 5:45am,” Namubiru recounts. “I left her my bucket to fill with water as she was still washing her clothes, shut my door and went back to bed. I was shocked after it had stopped raining to see people gather around Nakitende in a trench.”
Nakitende and Namatovu were hacked severally in the head, back, legs and other body parts. Police from Katwe picked the two victims and took them to Mulago hospital for treatment but they were in critical condition.
This is the third incident in Nsuwa zone and Nawanku zone which neighbour each other in a space of two weeks. The first incident involved Tracy Nakanwagi and Shakira Nansamba who were cut and dumped near their homes.
Nansamba was only four years and died while Nakanwagi had just marked her eight birthday and is still in Intensive Care Unit. The defence secretary Muhammad Konde, has attributed the crimes to laxity of police in patrolling their areas.
“Police have not helped us,” Konde said. “They do not patrol these areas in the night. We have people who keep walking in this place throughout the night and we cannot stop them. We are armed only with sticks and we don’t know what they are carrying in the night. We are overwhelmed as leaders. Locals wake up early going for work and they are often attacked. We need security.”
Assistant Superintendent of Police –ASP Luke Owoyesigyire, the deputy Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson, said the detectives were doing whatever possible to identify the attackers. Police said they are working with area chairman Badru Kateregga to ensure a solution is reached to avert similar incidents.
