Zombo tea cooperative society chair brutally murdered

Last Updated on: 11th August 2023, 05:57 pm

Zombo I Zombo is mourning, tea farmers in the district are shocked after the body of Jimmy Okello was found lifeless Friday morning.

Elder Okello, until his killing on Thursday night, was the chairman of Zombo Tea Cooperative Society.

He was a resident of Agulu village, Abanga parish, Akaa sub-county in Zombo district.

Why Okello was killed remains unclear, but some who spoke to TND News have attributed it to “persistent land wrangle and perhaps matters of tea development in Zombo”.

Also read: Pictorials, texts as Zombo tea farmers, leaders conclude tours of Ankole   

Asked what the Police investigations have to reveal, SP Nahabwe Nelson, the DPC of Zombo district said: “As of now, they (Police) are at the scene of crime.

“I’m not aware. My team are on the ground since morning,” DPC Nahabwe responded when asked, about a report that three suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder.

Jimmy Okello will be remembered as a tea champion and leader whose love for tea development in Zombo was high.

Speaking in 2022 after leading a delegation from Zombo to Bushenyi for tea field tours, he said, “My team, we need to thank the administration of this factory (Global Village Tea Factory). They are very unique and welcoming.”

Okello for long had had a different view of Zombo (tea) and those he leads. “Zombo land is unique and better than here. Our land is very unique,” he emphasized.

Edwin Atukunda Beekunda, who has worked with the deceased remembers him as “a true friend and tea champion”

Atukunda who’s the director of the Edwin Foundation Tea Initiative (EFOTI), a company that has been working with Zombo Tea farmers, says Okello’s killing is a major setback to tea development in the district.

More, especially on Police’s investigation follows.