Mother in Bunga killings tells police marital dispute drove her actions

What the report says

Police in Kampala are investigating a deadly domestic incident in Bunga after Dorothy Namayo, a 43-year-old Kenyan national, told detectives that long-running conflict with her husband drove her actions. According to The Independent Uganda, Namayo said she intended to kill her children and then take her own life after what she described as unbearable marital disputes. She is currently receiving medical treatment, along with the surviving children, at Mulago Hospital.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Rachel Kawala said investigators are still working to verify Namayo’s account and determine the sequence of events. Police have not yet taken a statement from the children’s father, identified in the report as Ederisa Troe, a Malian national. The publication also reported that the couple’s housemaid and neighbours linked the tensions to the husband taking another wife in Namasuba, along Entebbe Road, though that account is still part of the wider inquiry.

The article says the situation worsened in May 2026, when quarrels became more frequent and the husband spent less time at the family home in Bunga. On the day of the incident, a family friend reportedly intervened after the eldest child called for help, but police believe Namayo later bought knives, new padlocks and fuel used in the attack and an attempted burning of a vehicle.

The case adds to wider concern about domestic violence in Uganda. The Independent Uganda cited police figures showing 208 murders linked to domestic violence in the 2025 annual crime report, up from 183 the year before.