Residents of Adyanglit village, Muntu town board in Amolatar District have been left in disbelief following the arrest of an upcoming musician over the gruesome murder of his 19-year-old wife.
Ronald Okao, 26, and three of his friends were arrested following the murder of Winnie Ajwang last week.
Ajwang’s body was in the wee hours of last Thursday morning discovered along the road by residents walking to their gardens. The body was lying in a pool of blood with deep cuts on the head and missing fingers, about 700 meters from her marital home.
The couple had been living as husband and wife for nearly two years and by the time of her death, Ajwang was six months pregnant.
Angry residents followed traces of blood that led to the couple’s compound, prompting them to launch a search for Okao who was on the run.
Authorities say Okao handed himself to Police on Monday after the arrest of his three closest friends in connection to the murder.
“After their arrest (Okao’s friends), we interrogated them and they told us that Okao killed his pregnant wife on instructions of a witchdoctor who promised him fame and success in the music industry. The suspects said that Okao had been told by the witchdoctor that he should kill one of his most loved relatives if he wanted to become famous in the music world,” said one of the police officers investigating the case.
Mr Okao is said to have started pursuing his music career a year ago and in an attempt to gain fame in the northern region, he recently reportedly consulted a witchdoctor in Cakwara, Amolatar District.
According to the officer who asked not to be named because he’s not authorized to speak to journalists, Okao reportedly returned home on the fateful day at about 10:00PM, found his wife sleeping and killed her before chopping off some of her body parts before he carried the body on a bicycle and dumped it along the road.
“He handed himself to us but we are also looking for the witchdoctor who instructed the suspect to kill his wife,” said the officer.
The deceased was laid to rest at their home in Muntu Sub County on Friday, according to her father, Mr Geoffrey Icima.
Mr Marsna Okello Ochan, the OC Amolatar Central Police Station confirmed the arrests in a telephone interview, adding that they are still hunting for more suspects as investigations continue.
“Our inquiry is still on. We have so far arrested four young men in relation to the murder of this young woman. We are charging them with murder. Their files are ready and will be paraded before court anytime because we cannot keep them here,” Mr Okello told this reporter.
