By Aggrey Baba
Police in Kampala have uncovered findings in the kidnapping and murder of the real estate dealer Lydia Babirye, that she was a niece to former Buganda Katikkiro John Baptist Walusimbi, after her body was discovered concealed in a suspect’s house in Kiterede, Kakiri town council in Wakiso District following a failed ransom negotiation.
Investigators say Babirye, 52, was abducted from the Ntinda–Kigoowa in Kampala on June 3 and later killed despite her family paying part of a demanded ransom of Ugx 19 million.
The breakthrough came after the arrest of two suspects, Shafiq Kagga and Abubakar Ntege, in coordinated operations by the Police Flying Squad Unit and the army, arrests which directly led detectives to the location where the victim’s body had been hidden.
According to police findings, Kagga was first picked up in Bulenga, along Mityana Road, before he led security operatives to Nateete, where Ntege was traced. It is Ntege who later directed detectives to his home in Kiteredde village, where the discovery was made.
Inside the house, officers found Babirye’s body wrapped in a mattress cover and tied with ropes, concealed in what the operatives believe was an attempt to delay detection and prepare for secret disposal. A shallow grave was also reportedly discovered within the same compound, just behind the house, indicating plans had already been made to bury her body there.
Forensic indications suggest the victim was suffocated, with no visible physical injuries observed on the body, shifting the case strongly toward deliberate murder during captivity rather than accidental death or natural causes.
The investigators further established that the kidnappers maintained direct communication with the family throughout the ordeal, using Babirye’s phone and other messaging platforms to issue threats and demand payment. The family reportedly sent Ugx 7 million in initial payments through mobile money accounts said to belong to the killers, but the victim was already dead at the time of the transactions.
Police also found that ransom instructions were repeatedly changed, with money being directed to different mobile numbers, a tactic detectives say was used to complicate tracking and delay suspicion.
Babirye, who was engaged in real estate and managed significant family land interests in Kaliisizo District, is now confirmed by relatives to be a close family member of the former Buganda Katikkiro, Walusimbi.(For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
