Death of Child Who Fell From Flat, Diplomat Rugari’s Dark Plot to Frame Wife Begins to Unravel

By Investigative Desk | Part I

Fresh cracks have emerged in what initially appeared to be a tragic accident involving the death of 2-and-a-half-year-old Nganwa Rugari, son of Zimbabwe’s Honorary Consul to Uganda, Chris Rugari, and his wife, Joline Kanoeli Rugari. The child reportedly fell from the family’s flat in Mutungo, Nakawa Division, Kampala. But what was first presented as a simple domestic mishap is now unraveling into a sinister tale of betrayal, manipulation, and a diplomatic cover-up.

According to sources with in the investigators at Jinja Road Police Station where Joline and the maid are being held, evidence is surfacing that the Consul may be leveraging his connections to frame his wife in an attempt to rid himself of her permanently. The motive? Years of domestic strife, infidelity, and abandonment — and a renewed resistance by Joline to be controlled by a man who has long refused to treat her as a partner.

An Absent Father, A Denying Husband

Multiple sources familiar with the investigation paint a chilling picture of neglect and psychological abuse. Joline and Rugari began their relationship in 2007, giving birth to their first child in 2009. But Rugari, then a traveling businessman in South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Dubai and Zambia, vanished shortly after the birth, abandoning his wife and child for nearly two years.

When he resurfaced, Rugari declared that he no longer wished to have more children, insisting that parenthood was a distraction to his ambitions of becoming a “young billionaire in East Africa.” In a shocking twist, he even proposed flying Joline to the UK to have her uterus removed — a request she flatly rejected.

Whereas the couple was staying in one house, there was no relationship until Rugari out or arrogance said that Joline was free to have babies with any other man after all she was not wedded neither introduced officially as a wife.  Rugari again travelled and abandoned the family for more years as he concentrated on his own business.

Joline, later had two more children during this period since Rugari had abandoned her. It was reported according to intimate sources that at the time, Rugari was reportedly cohabiting with another woman, Teddy, in Zambia.

It wasn’t until 2016 that Rugari reappeared in Joline’s life, pleading for reconciliation. Though Joline resisted because she had sired two children with another man, she agreed to a settlement in which Rugari would take care of her children’s education — despite being aware that they were not biologically his. He even demanded that the children take his surname, “Rugari,” to protect his public image.

The late Nganwa Rugari was buried

To reassure Joline that he was this time committed, Rugari even promised to introduce his wife and we’d her officially. He even paid some fines at Joline’s parents because he had spent a lot of time with her.

The two were wedded in Dubai in 2017 in a lavish ceremony. But soon after, Rugari continued his pattern of infidelity — allegedly marrying two more women in Zambia: Jackline Kalema and another woman only identified as Brenda.

A Dangerous Relocation to Turkey

In 2023, Rugari promised his wife a new life in Turkey, claiming he had bought property there. Joline, heavily pregnant, agreed. But just two weeks after arrival, she fell ill and discovered she was two months pregnant — news that infuriated Rugari. He accused her of infidelity and stormed back to Uganda.

He later told Joline’s father that the baby was Turkish, accusing her of cheating — a puzzling claim given that he had arranged and traveled with her to Turkey himself, “I don’t want a half cast among my children” Rugari repeatedly said, referring to the pregnancy whose now child is a year old.

At her father’s insistence, Joline returned to Uganda — only to find her marital home in Mutungo occupied by Brenda, one of Rugari’s secret wives.

Worse still, Rugari had falsely reported that Joline was dead and had begun the process of transferring ownership of their house into his name — a move that failed only because he couldn’t produce her death certificate. Joline had to seek police intervention to reclaim her residence, with Kitintale Police refusing to act until Jinja Road Police stepped in.

Barred from Her Home, Her Children, and Her Rights

Upon her return, Rugari barred Joline’s two older children — whom he claims aren’t his — from entering the home. Even the child they had in 2022 received no financial or emotional support. Joline gave birth to another baby in 2023, alone and neglected, and repeatedly requested a DNA test, which Rugari kept evading.

Shockingly, despite being in police custody, Joline has been denied the right to breastfeed her baby — a clear violation of her maternal rights.

The death of Nganwa, under such circumstances, appears to have given Rugari the perfect excuse to unleash his long-planned vendetta — to eliminate Joline once and for all by painting her as a child murderer. Currently Joline and her maid Robinah Nabbanja have been currently sent on remand in Luzira maximum prison

But what really happened that night in Mutungo? And how far is Rugari willing to go to bury the truth? Stay tuned for Part II: A Diplomat’s Web of Deceit – How Rugari Abandoned, Framed, and Lied His Way Out of a Marriage