Police investigate death of 16-year-old girl found hanging in Kiboga

What the report says

Police in Kiboga District are investigating the death of 16-year-old Phionah Namukisa, whose body was found hanging from a mango tree in a coffee plantation in Kitete Village, Kibiga Sub-county. According to the Nile Post report, the girl had been reported missing by her mother on August 28 after disappearing from relatives, then returned home on September 2 and said she had been living with a man she believed she had married.

The article says family members were upset by her account and arranged for her to go back to the man, identified as Joram Sserugo. Police said Namukisa found another woman, Nantale Resty, at the home, and a dispute followed. Investigators say the woman assaulted the teenager before Sserugo returned and separated them. Namukisa later spent the night at a neighbour’s home, but was found dead on September 4.

Wamala Region police spokesperson SSP Lameck Kigozi said the body had bruises and was discovered by a resident collecting herbs. Officers from Kibiga and Kiboga Central police stations, along with a homicide team, examined the scene. Sserugo has been arrested as inquiries continue, and the body was taken to Kiboga Hospital for postmortem. The case highlights concerns around child vulnerability, family pressure and possible abuse, though police said the circumstances of the death remain unclear.