Africa-Press – Uganda. Amolatar District Speaker Patrick Denis Ojok has been arrested over allegedly having a hand in the murder of a man whom he accused of having a relationship with his wife, police have confirmed.
The suspect who had been on the run for several days was arrested by the Police Flying Squad Unit from his hideout in Apac District last Friday and whisked to Kampala Central Police Station (CPS).
Allegations suggest that the district leader kidnapped and killed Kenneth Ayo who was working at the Antiretroviral Therapy (Art) clinic of Amolatar Health Centre IV.
Amolatar LC5 chairman Geoffrey Ocen who last saw Ojok on November 21, 2022 offered Monitor new information.
“Then, he told me that he was traveling to Lira town to meet his lawyer over a pending court case and since then his phone has been off and l didn’t know his whereabouts,” Mr Ocen said.
Mr Ocen added that on November 21, he received a phone call from the LC5 councilor of Namasale in Amolatar District- informing him that police detectives from Kampala were in the area hunting for Mr Ojok over Ayo’s death.
“I was told that he used a vehicle of Amolatar which he travelled with to Kampala in October and through coordination with other accomplices he kidnapped, killed and hid Ayo’s body in a shallow grave,” the Amolatar LC5 chairman said.
He added: “Some people were saying the speaker used my official vehicle for committing the crime. But that is not true. The truth is that he used a vehicle of one of the staff of Amolatar District Local Government and it was impounded by police from a place where it was hidden in Lira City.”
He condemned Ayo’s kidnap and his eventual murder, adding that in the meantime, his deputy speaker will handle the council affairs until they get guidance from the Attorney General.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga revealed that Mr Ojok was arrested together with his two brothers identified as Denis Otim and Isaac Opio with whom he is alleged to have committed the offence.
“We instituted inquiries and we noticed that the district speaker was following Ayo whom he said was having an intimate relationship with his wife,” Mr Enanga said.
According to police, Ayo was abducted on October 8, 2022 around Gadhaffi Mosque in Kampala and tortured on the way to Amolatar before he succumbed to injuries.
“They tied him (Ayo) and transported him from Kampala to Amolatar while torturing him. They even had a spanner which they were using to hit him. Unfortunately, the victim succumbed to the injuries around Nakasongola. When they noticed the victim had died, they removed the body from the car and buried it in one of the bushes in Nakasongola,” Mr Enanga said.
“We managed to establish the place where they tortured and buried this man. It was around Wabigalo Trading Centre,” police disclosed.
Mr Ojok, now held as the prime suspect faces charges of murder and kidnap together along with his brothers.
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