Police in Kisoro District are searching for unidentified gunmen who shot dead a businessman and his wife as the couple returned home from their wholesale shop late Saturday night.
Africano Nteziyaremye and his wife, Peace Kyompeire, were killed at about 11 p.m. on October 17, 2026, in Zindiro Cell, Kamonyi Ward, within Kisoro Municipality.
The couple was reportedly heading home after closing their wholesale business when the attackers struck. The circumstances surrounding the shooting, including the motive for the killings and whether the assailants took anything from the victims, had not been established by Sunday afternoon.
Superintendent of Police Nelson Tumushime, the public relations officer for the Kigezi Region, said detectives had visited the scene as investigators began piecing together the circumstances of the double killing.
“The scene was examined by a team of detectives and the canine unit for evidence gathering,” Tumushime said.
He described the incident as “heinous.”
No arrests had been announced by Sunday afternoon. Police said security operations were underway to identify and apprehend the gunmen, while appealing to anyone with information that could help the investigation to report to the nearest police station.
The killings prompted concern from former Kisoro District LCV chairman Abel Bizimana, who suggested that worsening economic conditions could be contributing to a rise in violent crime. He questioned why the couple had been targeted, saying he had not known Africano to be involved in any controversy.
“Why gun down this couple really? I had never seen Mr. Africano in any political, social or entrepreneurial scandal. I suspect the heat of hard economics in the country is scorching. Anybody with some money is now a target. Any prominent person can now be killed with a little pay to armed criminals,” wrote Bizimana.
Bizimana warned that mounting economic pressure could push more people into criminal activity, including armed robbery, and called for security agencies to identify and dismantle criminal networks operating in the district.
“Since making money is getting harder, criminality increases. New crime cells will form and old ones hardened. Criminal temptations to attempt armed robbery will increase. Lets map out crime cells in Kisoro and track them down with their contacts like Ebola. Otherwise twaahwa. Ibikundanye birajyana. A dieu Bakimbiri bacu.”
His comments reflected concerns about the possible relationship between economic hardship and violent crime, although police had not publicly established a motive for the killing of Nteziyaremye and Kyompeire.
The Uganda Police Force expressed sympathy to the bereaved family and urged residents to share any information that could help investigators bring those responsible to justice.
The investigation continues as police work to establish who carried out the attack and why the couple was targeted.
