Uganda’s Military Intelligence (CMI) has arrested at least ten people including two prime suspects who are suspected to have had a hand in the killing of former Buyende DPC, ASP Muhammad Kirumira last month.
The revelation about the arrests was first made by President Yoweri Museveni on Monday.
Museveni said that one of the suspects in the brutal assassination of former Buyende District Police Commander, ASP Muhammad Kirumira, was shot dead by security operatives.
He revealed that an operation had been made by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) on Friday in which suspected killers of Kirumira were apprehended, and one of them shot at. The suspect who was shot and later died has been identified as Katerega Abdu.
The President however did not divulge details on the said suspects and how many they are in number. He did not explain under what circumstances Katerega, a suspect government would want alive, was killed.
SoftPower News has since got details from a reliable source in security who preferred anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, regarding the operations in which the suspects were arrested.
On Friday, September 28, a CMI squad was dispatched to Adjumani district in West Nile from where a number of suspects were captured and apprehended. A man identified as Wasswa Abasi who was hosting the said suspects was also arrested.
Other three people including Najibu Shaban, Walugembe Abdu Karim and Sekyanzi Abdul were arrested in the same operation.
The source who is privy to the details of the CMI operations told this website that the squad later proceeded to Butyaba subcounty in Bulisa district where some other suspects were picked up.
In Bulisa, the operatives arrested Kalungi Abubaker, said to be a prime suspect in the assassination of Kirumira. Bashir Hamis in whose residence Abubaker was hiding was also arrested.
Also among the arrested persons is Mohammed Yosefu who was with Kalungi.
The following day, another CMI squad pursued a one Katerega Abdu, who is also a prime suspect in the investigation. He was picked up in Namungona in Wakiso district near Kampala.
According to President Museveni’s account, Katerega was shot during the operation and later died of injuries.
“I am sure I am speaking on behalf of many of you when I congratulate the CMI squads which arrested a number of suspects in the killing of ASP Kirumira on Friday night,” Museveni wrote on his Facebook Monday morning.
“Quite a number of them will appear in court soon. In the process, one of them, by the names of Katerega Abdu, was shot and later died of injuries,” he added.
According to the President, the killed suspect was formerly attached to rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) which now operates in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“It turns out that Katerega was one of the ADF terrorists that had benefited from Amnesty in the past,” the statement by the President added.
This website understands from a source that Katerega was shot at as he tried to escape, as a way of disabling him. Later, he would succumb to the bullet injuries.
Kasuja Mariam, a wife to Katerega is also in detention to assist the investigations, as well as a one Amir Sentongo Musisi a close associate to Katerega.
The two (Katungi and Katerega) had been on the run and had switched their phones off, presumably after having known that they were wanted. Among the places they ran to was Nsangi along Kampala – Masaka road.
With the help of technical capabilities, CMI had managed to place the two suspects at the scene of crime in Bulenga where Kirumira was shot dead.
Another person who has been arrested in connection with Kirumira’s murder is Bashir Hamid Mugisha, a Rwandan national. Other associates to the ten suspects are also being pursued , the source said.
On Monday, Museveni warned all the killers that “the wages of sin is death” quoting Biblical verse – Romans 6:23.
He also asked members of the public that may have more information about this particular gang of Katerega to inform the police.
With the ten suspects now in military detention, it now remains to be seen how much evidence the security will be able to adduce to help courts prosecute them and get convictions. Uganda Police Force have in the past faced criticim for arresting ‘wrong’ suspects and failing to resolve the spate of assassinations in recent years.
Muhammad Kirumira, a prominent and vocal police officer was gunned down by unknown assassins on September 8 while he was heading back home at around 9 pm in the night. The assassins shot him and another woman identified as Resty Nalinya while the two sat in Kirumira’s car.
Kirumira had used the media to expose the rot in the Police force alleging that some Senior officers were conniving with wrong elements to engage in criminal activities.
His murder joins a list of yet to be resolved similar killings of high profile individuals like former State Prosecutor, Joan Kagezi; former Police spokesman, Andrew Felix Kaweesi; former Arua municipality MP, Ibrahim Abiriga; and a number of Muslim clerics.