The phones of Mary Immaculate Aiso Onebe, who was allegedly murdered by her husband Senior Accountant Francis Onebe and their security guard, Bonny Oriekot, were initially kept away from the police, the high court heard on Tuesday.
According to the Investigating Officer Jacob Okello, after searching the deceased’s matrimonial home, they inquired about her phones, but Onebe claimed not to know their whereabouts. However, several days later, three phones were sent to Okello through Charles Okello, an employee of Pentagon Security Company owned by Onebe.
Two of the phones belonged to Aiso, while the third belonged to the security guard. Onebe informed the police that the phones had been recovered from the bedroom. “We made an opinion that this keeping away of the phone was meant to delay investigations or divert investigations…” Opined Okello, adding that finding the phones at home was confirmation that the deceased had reached home that day. However, Justice Michael Elubu said that he wouldn’t put on record the officer’s opinions.
Okello explained that during the search on the second day, he interviewed Ivy Inapo, the late Aiso’s daughter. Inapo informed him about a disagreement her mother had with two of her stepdaughters, Iren Inapo and Maureen Owolu. According to Inapo, Owolu had experienced an illness abroad that affected her mental faculties, and Aiso was blamed for bewitching her.
In addition, Inapo mentioned that her mother had a dispute with Irene Inapo, who had completed university studies but did not contribute much to domestic chores, causing strain in their relationship. Okello also revealed that a man named Abasi Gerald was arrested by Kabalagala Police Station and confessed to participating in the murder of Aiso.
“He told them that it was true that he was part of the killers. He also gave a long story of his participation in the murder” narrated Okello before the court. Gerald claimed to have met Onebe while in prison and promised to help him search for his wife, as he seemingly did not believe she was dead. Onebe allegedly provided Gerald with 6.25 million Shillings for assistance.
However, it was later discovered that Gerald had fabricated his story, and he was sentenced to caution by the Makindye court. According to Okello, Onebe had also given money to several individuals who allegedly fleeced him. Interestingly, these individuals turned out to be either Onebe’s relatives or friends of his relatives. The recipients included Susan Enugu, believed to be Onebe’s sister, who received Shillings 900,000.
Onebe also sent seven million Shillings to someone named Makmot through his daughter Ivy Inapo, who is a friend of Makmot. Additionally, Onebe gave 15 million Shillings to a private investigator identified as Sande through Brenda Agoro, 11 million Shillings to Moses Etiu, and 39 million Shillings to a pastor named Bonny through someone called Mwaka.
“All these people were related to Onebe, either a friend or a relative to Onebe. And this cast doubt into us” Okello told the court presided over by Judge Michael Elubu.
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