A resident of Nyarwizi, Mbarara City, named Joab Ahimbisibwe, was stopped by suspicious residents of Rubaya Sub-County in Kabale District on Tuesday. They believed him to be a witch doctor.
Ahimbisibwe was on his way to see Jackson Beringyira, a resident of Kagasha village in Butenga Parish. Residents unfamiliar with Ahimbisibwe questioned him about his presence in the area.
The residents became suspicious and grabbed Ahimbisibwe’s bag and smartphone. Inside the bag, they found human skulls, bones, horns, and pieces of people’s photos.
During questioning, Beringyira arrived with money and urged the crowd to release Ahimbisibwe. Ahimbisibwe then claimed Beringyira had invited him.
Residents told a reporter that they suspected Ahimbisibwe of being a witch doctor who had been providing witchcraft services in the Kitooma and Rwanyena communities for over 24 years, since 2000.
Gordon Tukacungurwa, the area’s LC II Chairman, confirmed that residents of Burimba and Butenga had accused Jackson Beringyira of witchcraft, blaming him for a series of unexplained deaths
The Chairperson added that after apprehending the suspect, the enraged residents intended to kill both him and Beringyira. However, the police from Ryakarimira Police Post arrived and took them both, along with the evidence, into custody.
