Human skull found in septic tank, pastor arrested

Police in Njeru have detained a male suspect in connection with the gruesome murder of a fellow resident, whose remains were discovered in a septic tank.

Ronald Kirya, a pastor, was arrested last Wednesday after authorities were tipped off that he allegedly killed Esther Mulelenge, burnt her remains, and dumped her body in a septic tank at his residence 18 months ago.

Kirya had lived with the deceased for two years, but Mulelenge went missing shortly, and the family last saw her in early 2023.

Lydia Nandutu, the sister to the deceased and owner of the home where the two lived, explained that in 2022, Kirya, a friend of hers, approached her and asked for accommodation, to which she agreed since she was planning to go abroad to work in Poland and needed a caretaker for her home.

“I left the house with my sister, the deceased, and Kirya living together peacefully. However, a few months later, they started having misunderstandings. The situation escalated, with each of them reporting the conflicts to me. This prompted me to ask our mother, Rose Mulemya, to intervene and calm the situation,” Nandutu said.

Nandutu revealed that their mother made efforts to resolve the dispute, but neither Kirya nor Mulelenge heeded her advice.

“I personally told my sister and Kirya to leave my house if they couldn’t resolve their differences because I was exhausted from the constant conflicts. After that, I stopped hearing any more quarrels between them. But when I returned, my sister was missing, though Kirya was still there,” Nandutu explained.

The human remains were discovered by Nandutu and her children while they were cleaning the septic tank. They initially found a skull and later unearthed bones suspected to be human ribs.

“When I came back, I decided to renovate my house. I called in builders and asked how much they would charge to clean the septic tank, but the cost was too high. So, I decided to clean it myself with my children. As we were cleaning, we saw a human skull. We continued digging and found a blanket, which, when removed, we saw human ribs. We immediately reported it to the police,” Nandutu recounted.

At the time of reporting, Kirya was not at home but was arrested shortly after. Police visited the scene, retrieved the human remains, and arrested Kirya, who is suspected of having killed Mulelenge.

On Thursday, police officers, along with a team of firefighters, revisited the scene. They entered the septic tank and recovered more bones believed to be of human beings, as well as burnt remains and other solid particles suspected to be human flesh. Authorities also retrieved items such as drug containers and clothes from the septic tank.

James Mafabi, the biological son of Mulelenge, confirmed that the skull that was found in the septic tank belonged to his mother by way of dental formula identification.

Mulemya Rose, the stepmother of the deceased, expressed shock at the discovery and accused Kirya of killing Mulelenge.

“Kirya is a born-again Christian who prays at Evangel Church. In the last elections of 2021, he contested for district councillor but didn’t win. I request the police and the court deliver justice in this matter,” Mulemya said.

Helen Butoto, the Ssezibwa Region Police spokesperson, confirmed the arrest of Ronald Kirya and stated that investigations are ongoing to confirm that Mulelenge was indeed murdered. Butoto urged the public to remain vigilant and avail any relevant information to the police regarding the case.