Police in Kisoro District have arrested three police officers and two civilians in connection with the alleged murder of a Congolese national who reportedly died after being assaulted and detained at Nyabwishenya Police Station.
The deceased, only identified as Uwimana, a 30-year-old Congolese national, is alleged to have been assaulted by a group of suspects at a drinking place in Nyabwishenya on May 6, 2026 at around 9:00pm after reportedly threatening them.
According to Kigezi Region Police spokesperson ASP Elly Maate, the suspects included Nsabimana John Bosco and Hakuzimana Mpunuseni, who has already been arrested, while other suspects are still on the run.
Police said the victim was later handed over to Nyabwishenya Police Station where he was charged with threatening violence and detained.
However, on May 7, 2026 at around 8:00am, Uwimana was reportedly found dead while in custody.
It is alleged that instead of informing senior authorities for proper management of the case, some police officers together with the suspects secretly buried the body during the night on land belonging to the Bufumbira North County Member of Parliament, John Nizeyimana Kamara.
Police further revealed that when relatives of the deceased followed up at the police station after learning about his arrest, they were allegedly misled and informed that he had been released.
The matter escalated on May 8, 2026 when a group of Congolese nationals reportedly crossed into Uganda and attacked the suspects while demanding to know the whereabouts of their colleague.
Nyabwishenya Police reportedly responded to calm the situation but allegedly failed to report the matter to the District Police Commander (DPC).
According to ASP Maate, intelligence information later emerged indicating that the Congolese group intended to attack Nyabwishenya Police Station over the disappearance of the deceased.
This prompted the DPC to immediately mobilize a team to investigate the matter, leading to the arrest of three police officers attached to Nyabwishenya Police Station for questioning.
The arrested officers were identified as Corporal Musabimana Wickliffe, Police Constable Apeti Kizito and Police Constable Yebuze Moris.
Maate said a team from Kisoro Central Police Station visited the scene and identified the grave where the deceased was allegedly buried pending exhumation and a postmortem examination.
He added that investigations into the matter are ongoing.
CUE IN MAATE….ON THE ARREST……RR/ENG//
