Sheilah Nabatanzi, the girlfriend of murdered Norwegian national Robert Hausvik aka “Katongole” has been remanded.
Jinja grade one magistrate Yafesi Ochieng remanded Nabatanzi alongside Ali Kigozi on suspicion of playing a role in Hausvik’s death which happened earlier in March in Walukuba, Jinja City. The third suspect remains on the run.
The case came to light on Monday, March 10, when a medical team from Mivule Crescent Medical Center, located along Radio Road in Jinja, reported the discovery of a lifeless 39-year-old Hausvikl at their facility.
The body had been brought in by Nabatanzi, his girlfriend, and Kigozi, a friend, seeking medical attention. However, the medical team confirmed that the man was already dead and immediately notified the police. Regional CID officer Dr Monday Johnson Agaba directed senior homicide detectives and a scene-of-crime officer, led by the OC CID of CPS Jinja Central, to investigate.
Upon arrival, officers found the body in the emergency room, covered with green bedsheets, with an injury on the toes of his right leg. The body was initially taken to Jinja regional eferral Hhospital mortuary before being transferred to Mulago national referral hospital on March 11 for a postmortem examination.
During their arrest on March 10, Nabatanzi and Kigozi claimed that the deceased had committed suicide at his rented residence in Walukuba West. Hausvik was living in a two-bedroom house with Nabatanzi, while Kigozi and his girlfriend, Zam Zam, occupied the second bedroom.
According to reports, on Sunday, March 9, Hausvik and Nabatanzi first argued at Bourbon Bar and Lounge in Jinja before Nabatanzi left the bar alone and returned home, while Hausvik stayed behind. Hausvik later returned, and the quarrel continued until Nabatanzi went to bed, leaving him in the sitting room.
In the early hours, Kigozi claimed to have discovered Hausvik hanging by his trousers. He and Nabatanzi then transported the body to a nearby clinic before taking it to Mivule Crescent Medical Center.
However, preliminary investigations according to James Mubi, Kiira Region police spokesperson suggested a suspicious and questionable suicide. Following a forensic postmortem by Dr Moses Byaruhanga, Uganda Police Director of Medical Services, and Dr Moses Ambayo, the cause of death was confirmed as murder by strangulation.
With these findings, the resident senior state attorney sanctioned the case file, and on March 21, the suspects were arraigned before Jinja Magistrates’ court.
The court remanded Nabatanzi and Kigozi to Kirinya prison until March 31, when they are scheduled for a case mention. Agaba warned against disguising homicides as suicides, stressing the clear forensic distinction between the two.
Meanwhile, the police continue to investigate the motive behind the murder, with James Mubi confirming that the search for Kigozi’s girlfriend, Zam Zam, who fled, is ongoing. The public has been urged to provide any information on her whereabouts.