GULU CITY I URN: Police in Aswa West are hunting for a group of assailants who clobbered a Gulu University laboratory technician to death in the early hours of Friday in Gulu City.
Police identified the deceased as Christopher Nyeko, 40, a Laboratory Assistant at the University Health Center. Nyeko was attacked and killed at around 5:40 a.m. near St. Peter’s Catholic Church, close to the university’s main campus in Forest Cell, Pece Prisons Ward, in Laroo-Pece Division.
Aswa West Police spokesperson David Ongom Mudong said in a statement on Friday that preliminary reports indicate Nyeko was last seen alive at about 11:30 p.m. on Thursday at a shop near Jaka Gardens. According to Mudong, the deceased later proceeded to D-Plus Bar, a popular hangout near the university’s main campus where he regularly met friends.
Mudong said Nyeko reportedly left the bar at around 5:30 a.m. on foot while heading home, but was attacked and hit on the head with a sharp object about 10 minutes later.
Reports say that before he was killed, he had an altercation with the assailants and raised an alarm that was heard by residents near Walbongo Market. Mudong noted that police detectives suspect the victim may have had a disagreement earlier in the evening, prompting the assailants to follow him.
“When officers from Gulu Central Police Station arrived at the scene, they found Nyeko’s body lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the road. He had a deep wound on the forehead, apprently inflicted with a sharp object,” Mudong stated.
He added that the deceased’s body appeared to have been searched and some belongings, including a mobile phone, were possibly taken. Mudong said joint security teams are actively pursuing the assailants and urged members of the public to prioritize their personal safety, especially in late hours.
James Ojok Onono, the university communications officer, described the incident as regrettable and shocking to the university management. By press time, police homicide detectives and Scene of Crime Officers had documented the scene, collected forensic evidence, and recorded statements from relevant witnesses.
Nyeko’s body was taken to the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital mortuary pending a postmortem examination.
The killing comes against the backdrop of renewed violent crime in Gulu City, which has left one security guard dead, two other people injured, and at least 10 motorcycles stolen within the past three weeks.
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