On the night of February 11, 2026, Pamela was strangled in her own bedroom at around 2:00 a.m. while her children slept just across the corridor. A man the household knew simply as “Sam” — later identified as Hussein Dak Taewaiko, a former shamba boy — has since confessed to the killing and will appear in court for the second time on March 19.
But for Dr. Rebecca Tumwebaze, Pamela’s sister, the confession answers only one question. The bigger, more dangerous question — who wanted Pamela dead, and why — remains wide open.
“While I believe the police may have arrested the person who physically carried out the murder, I remain unconvinced that the true motive behind Pamela’s murder has been established,” Dr. Tumwebaze writes in a detailed account published on her personal platform. “Without a clear motive, it is possible that Taewaiko did not act alone.”
Pamela had arrived home with her sons at around 10:00 p.m. after an evening out. By 11:00 p.m., she and the boys were in bed. Her bedroom sat directly opposite her sons’ room, separated by a corridor — a deliberate arrangement, because one of her sons suffered from asthma and she needed to hear him at night. The corridor light was always left on.
Taewaiko, according to the house help, was spotted searching for house keys shortly after 2:00 a.m., apparently trying to leave. But something had changed that night — the new house help had moved the keys from their usual spot before going to sleep. That small act of routine may have derailed whatever exit plan he had.
First responders and people present in the house that night noted something that has lingered in the minds of those close to Pamela: there were no visible signs of a struggle. Pamela appeared, in the words of one account, almost as if she were still sleeping. The driver who rushed her to hospital even suspected she may have been drugged before she was killed.
“Was Pamela incapacitated before she was killed?” Dr. Tumwebaze asks directly.
Almost immediately after Taewaiko’s arrest, a narrative began circulating — in media reports and even at vigils held in Pamela’s memory — that he had killed her over unpaid wages. The claim was repeated widely. No official police statement has confirmed it. And the people who actually lived and worked in Pamela’s household say it is simply not true.
One worker, Daniel, recalls with clarity that Taewaiko’s November salary was paid via mobile money. He remembers it specifically because Taewaiko had trouble with his mobile money PIN and the two of them travelled together to an MTN service centre in Mukono to sort it out. Daniel was so troubled by the wages narrative that he went to Mukono Police and provided a formal witness statement disputing it.
A variation of the story claimed Pamela had withheld wages over missing bicycles. But workers confirmed the bicycles were stolen after Taewaiko had already left employment — on December 31, more than two weeks after his departure. Forced entry was discovered at the boys’ quarters where Taewaiko had previously slept. Inside, investigators reportedly found his identity card.
Taewaiko had left the job in December to visit family and later called Pamela to say he would not be returning. By all accounts, he left on good terms.
“Logically, it seems difficult to reconcile the idea that someone could leave employment peacefully, later realise there was a wage dispute, and then decide that the appropriate response was not to demand payment, but to return and kill,” Dr. Tumwebaze writes.
What has struck those close to the case is Taewaiko’s behaviour throughout the night of the murder and afterwards. According to the house help’s account — captured in an NTV investigative report that was later removed from YouTube without explanation — Taewaiko did not threaten or harm the maid or Pamela’s children, even when they attempted to stop him from leaving after the killing.
“Even in the middle of committing murder, he exercised remarkable restraint towards the other members of the household,” Dr. Tumwebaze notes pointedly. “What a strangely courteous killer he was.”
At his first court appearance, she observed him again. He was calm, composed, and carried what she describes as a quiet confidence — as though he believed he was protected, or that his version of events would go unchallenged.
Dr. Tumwebaze lays out a series of questions she believes investigators must urgently pursue.
Who is Hussein Dak Taewaiko, really? He arrived at Pamela’s home introducing himself only as “Sam.” Authorities have reportedly been given the contact of the person who recommended him for the job. His full background, previous employers, and associates must be established.
How did he travel to and from Seeta on the night of the murder? No transport providers or boda boda riders have been publicly linked to the investigation. Who, if anyone, did he meet beforehand?
And perhaps most urgently — who introduced the unpaid wages narrative, and why did it begin circulating at vigils before his arrest was even publicly known? Certain individuals described as connected to Uganda Police were among those advancing the claim at those gatherings.
“I have noticed what seems to be a concerted effort to shape media narratives around Pamela’s death,” she writes. “Many reports quote unnamed sources, with none directly citing the Police. Notably, Uganda Police have not publicly rejected any of these narratives.”
Dr. Tumwebaze is not calling for a conclusion. She is calling for a complete investigation — one that goes beyond the man who physically carried out the act and asks harder questions about who may have sent him.
“If others were involved, they remain at large,” she warns. “And that poses a danger not only to justice in this case but potentially to many other Ugandans as well.”
Taewaiko returns to court on March 19. Whether the proceedings will begin to answer these questions — or bury them deeper — remains to be seen.
