Police make arrests in bizarre case of murdered coffee farmer Obote, buried body parts in Rwanda

Rukiga, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Two men accused of killing a coffee farmer in Rukiga District and smuggling parts of his dismembered body into Rwanda have been charged with murder and remanded to prison. The deceased, identified as Milton Bagambira alias Obote, aged 62, was a resident of Nyakisa Village in Kashekye Parish, Kamwezi Sub-county.

According to preliminary investigations, Bagambira left home on the morning of May 20, 2025, around 7.00am, to tend to his banana and coffee plantation in Rwenzaza Village. While at the farm, he reportedly encountered James Kiromba and Denis Beinomugisha alias Murefu, both residents of the same area, stealing his coffee.

In the confrontation that followed, the two suspects—allegedly armed with sharp objects—attacked and killed Bagambira, inflicting fatal injuries to his head and buttocks. In a chilling turn of events, the suspects reportedly mutilated the body, cutting off both arms and legs and gouging out the eyes, before packing the remains in a sack and smuggling them across the border into Rwanda, where they buried them in a secret location.

Upon arrest, the duo confessed to the crime and disclosed the location of the body. Through cross-border security coordination, Rwandan authorities assisted in the exhumation and repatriation of the remains to Uganda. On Monday evening, Kiromba and Beinomugisha were arraigned before Kabale Grade One Magistrate’s Court and formally charged with murder, contrary to Section 188 of the Penal Code Act.

Presiding magistrate Julius Mutabazi, the Kabale Principal Magistrate Grade One, declined to allow the accused to take a plea, citing a lack of jurisdiction over capital offences, which can only be tried by the High Court. He subsequently remanded the suspects to Ndorwa Government Prison until July 15, 2025, pending further mention of the case. The brutal killing has sent shockwaves across the community, with local leaders and residents calling for justice and heightened security in border areas.

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