By KT Reporter
Police say a man arrested in connection with the defilement and murder of a 15-year-old student in Mbale City has confessed to killing a total of 49 people in alleged ritual sacrifices carried out on the instructions of a witch doctor.
The suspect, identified as Fahad Kiranda, 27, was arrested over the weekend in Budebela Cell, Mayuge Town Council, Mayuge District, where he had been hiding.
He is accused of defiling and murdering Sumaya Edrisa Binti, a Senior Two student at Nakaloke Secondary School, whose body was discovered in a lodge room in Mbale City on March 23, 2025.
According to Rogers Taitika, the Elgon Region Police Spokesperson, Kiranda was arrested following months of intelligence-led surveillance by Crime Intelligence operatives led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Ismael Ssenono.
Police investigators say the suspect admitted responsibility for Binti’s killing and further claimed to have murdered 48 other victims under similar circumstances.
“The suspect told detectives that a witch doctor demanded human blood and an index finger for ritual purposes. He alleges that he was paid five million shillings for the blood and the finger,” a senior police officer involved in the investigation said.
Kiranda is currently detained at Iganga Central Police Station, pending transfer to Mbale City, where investigations into Binti’s murder are ongoing.
“We are making serious efforts to verify his claims regarding the alleged 49 victims, especially because he already has a pending human trafficking case in court.
That case bears similarities to the murder of Binti,” the officer added. Investigators noted that apart from Binti, the suspect has so far failed to provide names or identities of the other alleged victims.
Police records indicate that on the morning of March 23, 2025, Kiranda checked into Grace Guest House in Mbale City at around 9:00 a.m., requesting a room where he intended to spend the night.
According to police, the guest house receptionist, Peter Nabende, showed the suspect several rooms, which he rejected before settling on Room 11, citing size concerns.
The suspect reportedly told management that his girlfriend would later join him. After paying for the room, he was left alone. About four hours later, a staff member entered the room and discovered Binti’s naked body tied to the bed using a mosquito net, with one finger severed.
By that time, the suspect had already fled. As staff grappled with the discovery, police say the suspect allegedly called the guest house manager and instructed him to check Room 11 for their belongings.
The murder was reported at Nkoma Police Station, but efforts to identify and trace the suspect stalled for several months until his arrest last week.
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