Authorities in Uganda have charged a woman with attempted murder after she allegedly burned her 16-year-old niece over missing Shs400,000 (around $109). According to Monitor, the Saturday incident occurred in Kyondo Village, Kapeeka Sub-county in Nakaseke District.
The suspect, identified as Celina Nalukwago, is said to have set a house on fire while her niece, Bridget Akello, was inside. Akello was ultimately rescued by neighbors, but she sustained serious burns and was admitted to a local hospital.
In the wake of the incident, witnesses and Akello’s rescuers gave varying accounts of the motive behind the alleged crime. But police said its preliminary findings suggest the alleged crime stemmed from missing money.
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Police said neighbors rescued Akello after they saw smoke emanating from the home. Some residents linked the incident to a case of domestic violence and implied that Nalukwago reckoned there was an affair between her niece and husband because of certain favors the victim was receiving from him.
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“The victim’s mother is reportedly working in Saudi Arabia and left her daughter in the care of her sister, Celina Nalukwago. Some say Nalukwago, who usually provides money for food, left without doing so. Upon returning, she found that her husband had allegedly given money to the girl to buy food,” Mr Moses Ssenfuma, the chairperson for Kapeeka Sub-county, told Monitor.
A different resident identified as Ms Safina Nantege also said that upon returning home on the day of the incident, Nalukwago asked the victim where she got money to buy food because she did not provide those funds.
“Nalukwago first bought paraffin from one of the fuelling stations in Kapeeka Town before pouring it on the girl’s dress. She then pushed her into one of the rooms and set the fire. The young girl pleaded for mercy, but Nalukwago did not open the door. It was the neighbours who rushed to break it open,” Nantege said.
Nalukwago was also allegedly adamant that her niece was a thief in the wake of the wake of the incident, and she declined to take her to the hospital when residents begged her to do so. Another resident also said that had the police not stepped in, Nalukwago could have been assaulted or lynched by an angry mob.
Nalukwago is currently in custody.
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