By Aggrey Baba
Fresh investigations have been opened up by top security agencies, into the mysterious deaths of different suspects linked to high-profile killings of senior government and security officials, raising new questions about possible internal cover-ups.
The inquiry follows reports that at least six (6) suspects who had reportedly provided vital leads into the assassinations of former Police spokesperson AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi, former Buyende DPC Muhammad Kirumira, Maj. Muhammad Kiggundu, who was also husband to herbalist Sophia Namutebi (Mama Fiina), former Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga, and the attempted assassination of the Minister for works and transport Gen. Edward Katumba, died in cells under unclear circumstances.
As today’s NewVision reports, sources say the suspects in the person’s of Mustafa Ramadan Kawawa, Hussein Wahab Lubwama alias Master, Kanaabe, Abdu Kateregga, Juma Saidi, and Sserwadda, were among those arrested in connection with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)-linked hit squads that targeted big people in government, and security.
Investigators say some of the suspects had started giving vital information about the network behind the killings before they died. Their sudden deaths, coming in quick succession, have forced a deeper review within the intelligence circles.
The pattern of deaths has reportedly created suspicion that some officers may have had a hand in silencing the suspects to hide evidence, because every time a suspect gave new details, something happened to them, as if truth was being buried together with the suspect.
The probe has now turned the spotlight on at least 12 senior and junior officers of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), accused of mishandling or concealing key intelligence. Among those being questioned are Maj. Gen. James Birungi, former head of Defence Intelligence and Security, Col. Peter Ahimbisibwe who’s the director of counterterrorism, and Lt. Col. Ephraim Byaruhanga the director of special operations.
A high-level joint investigation team composed of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abbas Byakagaba, CID Director Tom Magambo, Crime Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Christopher Ddamulira, ISO boss Arthur Mugyenyi, ESO Director Ambassador Joseph Ocwet, and SFC Counterintelligence Officer Col. Sseruyange is leading the new review.
The investigation has reportedly expanded to include possible internal sabotage, disappearance of intelligence files, and the handling of witnesses during earlier operations.
Records (still according to the NV) show that most of the dead suspects were arrested between 2016 and 2021 during countrywide counterterror operations.
Kanaabe, who reportedly provided what security described as breakthrough details in the Gen. Katumba Wamala shooting case, died in custody barely two days after giving his statement.
Lubwama alias Master, who had allegedly confessed to taking part in the same attack, also died while in detention, with authorities claiming he was shot while trying to grab a gun from an officer.
Another suspect, Abdu Kateregga, was shot dead at his home in Makindye during arrest, while Kawawa, who had reportedly helped locate a firearm used in the Katumba attack, was killed during a search operation in Namuwongo, an opperation through which nvestigators recovered three guns, including a pistol that had belonged to Kaweesi’s bodyguard.
Adding to the mystery, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) laboratory report on Kaweesi’s 2017 murder, which was expected to guide prosecution, reportedly vanished shortly after being returned to Uganda, and now, security sources say the disappearance of the FBI report and the unexplained deaths have raised concerns of deliberate obstruction of justice by some elements within the security circles.
Investigators are now exploring claims that the killers may have been receiving names and details of their targets from within the country’s own security circles.
According to one suspect’s testimony, the assassins were “given names by someone in uniform” and paid to execute the missions. This revelation has widened the scope of the inquiry, with investigators now reviewing communication trails and internal briefings made before and after each assassination.
Kaweesi was killed on March 17, 2017, together with his bodyguard and driver, while leaving his home in Kulambiro.
Maj. Kiggundu was shot dead on November 26, 2016, in Masanafu, Kampala.
Former Buyende DPC Kirumira was killed in September 2018 in Bulenga, while Ibrahim Abiriga and his bodyguard were gunned down on their way to his home in Matuga, on June 8, 2018.
Gen. Katumba Wamala survived an assassination attempt on June 1, 2021, which left his daughter Brenda Nantongo and driver Haruna Kayondo dead.
The new probe has become one of the most sensitive internal reviews in recent years, seeking to determine not only who killed the officials, but also who killed the suspects who might have revealed the truth. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
