Father commits suicide after killing own daughter

24 September 2025, 11:59 am

By, Mike Okwang Ogule & Isaac Newton Abili

A wave of shock has hit Chegere Subcounty in Apac District after a 30-year-old man allegedly killed his eight-year-old daughter before committing suicide by hanging, following a long-standing domestic dispute.

The deceased, identified as James Obil, is suspected to have murdered his daughter, Jesca, at around 11:00 pm on Monday, 21 September 2025, in Acandekpee Village, Atigolwok Parish, Chegere Subcounty.

According to Dickson Ojok, the LC1 Defence Secretary of the area, Obil had earlier gone to Chegere Market on Monday. On his way back, he visited his mother-in-law’s residence, intending to take back his two children, who had been living with their maternal grandparents after his separation from his wife due to domestic violence.

Ojok explained that an altercation broke out after the mother-in-law denied him access to the children. Obil allegedly forcefully took the children—a boy and a girl—before assaulting them on the way home. Reports indicate that he particularly targeted the girl, beating her severely until she died.

Upon realising that Jesca was dead, Obil reportedly returned her body and laid it on the veranda of his in-laws’ house before fleeing. After a community search, Obil was later found hanging from a tree in a nearby garden close to the same residence.

The Chegere Subcounty LC3 Chairperson, Charles Dickens Okello, confirmed the incident and urged residents to always seek legal remedies when faced with domestic challenges instead of taking the law into their own hands.

Meanwhile, North Kyoga Police Spokesperson Jimmy Patrick Okema also confirmed the incident, saying investigations had commenced at Apac Police Station.

By press time, both bodies had been taken to Apac Hospital mortuary pending postmortem examination.