A man accused of being Uganda’s “worst serial killer and cannibal” is facing execution after allegedly killing and eating 38 people over 15 years.
Police identified the suspect as Mujurizi Moses, who was arrested this week after a prolonged manhunt. Announcing the arrest on Monday, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said the suspect would face public trial.
“I am glad to inform our fellow citizens that the security forces have arrested the evil Mujurizi Moses. The worst serial killer and cannibal in Uganda’s history,” Kainerugaba said.
He added: “He killed and ate 38 people between 2010-2025 in Masaka, Ibanda and Kazo. We will try him in public and definitely execute him.”
Police believe Moses carried out a killing spree between 2010 and 2025, allegedly hacking families to death with machetes after bursting through walls of their homes.
Police had previously been hunting a suspect identified as Fred Mujulizi, also known as Kulaish Kamugisha, a contract killer linked to murders across Greater Masaka.
According to local reports, investigators began comparing the identities after Kamugisha’s arrest in connection with the murders of three women. Police said the suspect had used different names and was being investigated for physical similarities to Mujulizi.
Mujulizi had been wanted since 2012 following killings in Kyotera and Rakai districts. His photo was released in 2013 after he was linked to several murders, including the killing of a family in Kannabulemu Village, Kyebe Sub-county, Kyotera District, where he and accomplices allegedly drilled a hole into the home of Steven Mugambe, a Pentecostal pastor, and hacked the occupants to death.
He was also linked to the killing of six people from two families in Kyannamukaaka Sub-county, Masaka District in late 2012.
Police later claimed Kamugisha confessed to killing a woman as part of a “ritual sacrifice” after members of the public alleged he murdered their relatives.
Investigators are reviewing the claims but have not provided details on the alleged cannibalism. Police said the suspect had been captured several times before but escaped or was released under disputed circumstances.
On October 16, Uganda Radio Network reported he had faced murder and human trafficking charges following the death of a woman on September 28.