{After winding up work in the city, Safina Namawejje would retire to her home around Makerere-Kavule zone, Kampala. Namawejje was known in the area for her tranquillity and solitary life.}
But between May 2 and May 6, 2002, a man would be seen loitering around Namawejje’s home every afternoon and evening. Her neighbours were puzzled by the consistent efforts of the youth. However, none wanted to get involved in affairs that didn’t concern them. They just observed him and proceeded with their business.
Mr Farouk Namugera, a boda boda cyclist operating near Namawejje’s home, said at around 3pm, he saw the man following Namawejje whenever she was returning home. “The man would then walk past her home and continue on his journey. He did it for some days,” Mr Namugera later told the police.
At around 8:30pm on May 2, 2002, as Namawejje strolled around the village, boda boda cyclists at the nearby stage saw the man trailing her. A few metres away from where they were seated, Mr Namugera said they heard a woman yelling that she had been killed.
“Omusajja anzise (the man has killed me),” Mr Namugera recalled the woman crying out loud. “She jumped around in pain and she seemed to have lost her sight because she was staggering and tripping. Then I saw the man we had seen for several days closely following her running away towards Bwaise area,” he recalled.
Namugera and other residents rushed to find out what had happened to her. They found Namawejje groaning in pain. Their first assessment revealed that she was wet and she quickly revealed to them that a man had poured a liquid that was irritating her skin. A close look revealed to them that the man had poured acid on her. Namugera swiftly picked her and put her on a motorcycle and took her to Mulago National Referral Hospital.
By the time she reached the hospital, she was in bad shape. The skin had started peeling off. Meanwhile, her attack infuriated residents after they discovered a container that the suspect had abandoned at the scene. Although it was dark, they chose to carry out a hunt for him.
The attacker had fled towards Bwaise, an area that is populated and has many unplanned buildings, which is very easy for someone to disappear without a trace.
Nevertheless, the residents pursued him. Mr George Byaruhanga and Mr Arthur Kanakulya participated in the hunt.
Mr Byaruhanga said they expected the suspect to be far, but they moved for about 800 metres and intercepted him when he was about to connect to the main road and jump on a motorcycle.
Byaruhanga said the suspect was easy to identify since he had injuries on the face.
Upon arrest, residents asked him why he had poured acid on an innocent woman. The man, who identified himself as Mike Kyoterekera, said someone had poured acid on them as they were walking and he was also a victim.
He showed them the injuries he had sustained in the attack. The residents were sceptical so they asked him why he was fleeing the scene if he had also been a victim. Kyoterekera’s answer was clear. He was running thinking that the attackers were pursuing him to finish him off.
However, residents were not convinced so they took him back to the area where the woman had been attacked. More people converged. Some claimed to have seen him in the area for more than four days tracking the same woman. Others claimed that they saw him moving around the area with the container that was abandoned at the scene.
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