The brutal killing of Pamela Tumwebaze, a senior administrator at Uganda Christian University (UCU), has left a trail of unanswered questions, conflicting narratives, and troubling possibilities that stretch far beyond what initially appeared to be a straightforward case of robbery or workplace grievance.
Weeks after her death, the motive remains deeply contested.
At the centre of the investigation is Hussein Dak Taewaiko, the prime suspect, whose alleged confessions to security agencies have only deepened the mystery rather than resolved it. According to details exclusively obtained by this investigative website, Taewaiko first told detectives — after his arrest at his home in Kamonkoli, Budaka District — that he had joined a cult that required him to present blood as a form of initiation or loyalty. In that chilling account, he allegedly claimed he had been instructed to sacrifice either his parents or his bosses.
In what he reportedly described as his own “assessment,” the weakest link was Pamela Tumwebaze — his former employer.
But this narrative did not hold.
While in security custody under a joint team comprising the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), Taewaiko allegedly abandoned the cult story. He presented a different motive: unpaid wages.
According to investigators, he claimed that Pamela had refused to pay him Shs800,000, money he said he was owed. He insisted that the killing was driven by frustration over withheld salary.
Yet this explanation, too, raises serious doubts.
Sources indicate that Taewaiko initially earned Shs120,000, later increased to Shs200,000 — a 70 percent increment within a relatively short period. What justified such a dramatic raise? Was he exceptionally hardworking? Did he assume additional responsibilities? Or was there another, undisclosed dynamic within the household?
The alleged Shs800,000 dispute appears even more puzzling when weighed against earlier claims that his salary had been cut following the disappearance of two children’s bicycles from the residence. However, members of the household dispute that version of events. They maintain that the bicycles went missing after Taewaiko had already been dismissed in December.
They further allege that Pamela lodged a police complaint after discovering Taewaiko’s National Identification Card near the house during a break-in at the structure he had previously occupied. This website has not independently verified the existence of that police file, as the case number relating to the alleged theft has not been availed.
If indeed there was an unresolved financial dispute, why did police reportedly find money left on the bedroom table at the crime scene? Why would a man allegedly desperate for Shs800,000 ignore visible cash and instead flee with gadgets, including the deceased’s mobile phone?
It was possession of that phone that ultimately led to Taewaiko’s arrest.
But even that detail opens new lines of inquiry. How did he access the device? Did Pamela use a password? If so, how did he obtain it? Did he force her to unlock it? Or did he already know it? What level of closeness would a domestic worker have needed to access such personal information?
During a reconstruction of the crime at Pamela’s home in Gwafu Village, Goma Division, Mukono District, the suspect reportedly told investigators that upon entering her bedroom, she threatened to raise an alarm — prompting him to strangle her.
Yet investigators must ask: what would be the instinctive reaction of anyone confronted by an intruder in their bedroom at night? Would it not be to scream immediately rather than issue a warning?
Another troubling account comes from Sharifa Rwantale, the maid who had worked at the home for only a week before the murder. According to her statement, she heard someone moving through the house at an unusual hour. Her bedroom door was opened, and the lights were switched on using a switch hidden behind the door — a detail suggesting familiarity with the house’s layout.
The stranger reportedly claimed to be one of Pamela’s children.
Instead of raising an alarm, Sharifa conversed with him before waking the children, who later discovered their mother’s lifeless body. Given that Taewaiko had reportedly worked at the home for years, how did the children fail to recognise him — even if he was wearing Pamela’s clothes, as some accounts suggest? Was his face concealed? The maid’s statement does not clarify this.
Beyond the domestic worker angle, investigators face pressure to explore other dimensions of Pamela’s personal life.
Information obtained by this website indicates that she was romantically involved with an American national, Mark Guthrie, who was reportedly planning to marry her once she finalised her divorce from her former husband, Alex Matsiko, a city lawyer. Sources claim Guthrie had been seen at Mukono hangout spots in the company of two women on multiple occasions. Could jealousy, financial entanglements, or emotional insecurity have played a role?
Before Guthrie, Pamela was reportedly involved with a Ugandan colleague at UCU, believed to be a Mugisu by tribe. His identity remains undisclosed publicly but is said to be known among close associates. Have investigators examined whether past relationships could have intersected with current tensions?
Public records show that Pamela separated from Matsiko in 2014, just three years after their 2011 wedding. Why the divorce had not been finalised more than a decade later remains unclear. Media reports indicate that she previously attempted to process the divorce but was allegedly frustrated by lawyers. Who were these lawyers? Why did the process stall? Have they provided statements?
At the time of her death, sources say she had resumed the divorce proceedings. Have the new lawyers been interviewed? What discussions had taken place in the weeks leading up to her killing?
Even remarks made during her burial in Rubaya, Kashari, Mbarara District, have drawn attention. The Vice Chancellor of UCU, Aaron Mushengyezi, reportedly told mourners that the killer “is among us, he is here.” Was this rhetorical grief, suspicion, or insider knowledge? Has he recorded a formal statement to clarify his words?
As Pamela Tumwebaze was laid to rest at her ancestral home, grief was compounded by uncertainty. Was this a crime of occult manipulation, a wage dispute turned deadly, a botched robbery, or something more complex involving personal relationships and unresolved legal matters?
Until investigators conclusively reconcile the contradictions — from cult claims to cash left behind, from hidden light switches to unfinalised divorces — the murder of Pamela Tumwebaze remains not just a homicide case, but a web of unanswered questions demanding rigorous, transparent inquiry.
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