The death of murder suspect Sam Emong in police custody has sparked serious allegations of negligence against Katine Police in Soroti district, with his family claiming he was denied medical care while detained.Emong was arrested on Monday, March 9, 2026, on murder charges and remained in custody until Sunday, March 15, when he was pronounced dead.
His relatives allege that police failed to notify them of his arrest or provide timely medical attention during detention.Stephen Edwards Emong, Sam’s elder brother, recounted that his brother was in good health when arrested. On Sunday, he received a call that Sam had fainted and been admitted to Soroti Regional Referral Hospital. Upon arrival 20 minutes later, the family learned he had already been taken to the mortuary.
During the postmortem, the family observed multiple injuries on Emong’s body. Stephen Emong said, “There were injuries both externally and internally. A yellowish substance was seen around the throat up to the anus, which the doctor suspected could be related to poisoning.” The family also raised concerns over procedural breaches, noting that the 48-hour police detention limit was allegedly ignored and that police refused to grant a bond request.
Julius Oile, the clan chairperson of Irarak Apuret, questioned why Emong was not treated despite visible injuries and urged investigations into the deaths of other suspects linked to the case.Soroti Regional Referral Hospital administrators, however, said the suspect was brought in dead and that the hospital lacks records for postmortems conducted without their staff present.
Principal Administrator Benzy Omoya stated: “We cannot ascertain where or when the person died…we don’t have records here, and even the postmortem, we don’t know which doctors conducted it.”As Soroti residents demand an independent investigation, the community seeks accountability and justice for Emong, hoping to clarify the circumstances surrounding his death in custody. URN