For nine years, Uganda had not made any breakthrough as far as the hunt for assassins moving on motorcycle concerns. The first incident of assailants moving on motorcycle was recorded in 2012 but security apparatus had not made any major success.
In the past nine years, over a dozen prominent persons who include Muslim clerics and security chefs have been shot dead. Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni following the killing of Assistant Inspector General of Police –AIGP Andrew Felix Kaweesi on March 17, 2017 said there was need to swiftly install Closed Circuit Television –CCTV cameras on major and access routes in Kampala capital city and other urban areas.
Museveni said assailants were successfully executing their missions because security agencies majorly Uganda police force, was relying on ‘who had seen who’ investigation mechanism which could not yield results.
As results, police starting with late 2018 embarked on installing Spy cameras on roads. So far more than 3,100 CCTV cameras have been erected in Kampala and its neighbouring districts of Kampala City, Wakiso and Mukono.
But the June 1st attack on Gen Edward Katumba Wamala at Kisota road, Kawempe division, Kampala City, has made security realise the first tremendous success of mounting CCTV cameras in Kampala.
Gen Katumba who is now minister for works and transport, was riddled with bullets between 8:47am to 9am an incident that left his daughter, Brenda Nantongo and driver Haruna Kayondo, shot dead. The four-star General survived with bullets wounds.
After an attack on Gen Katumba, a joint security investigations team, was set up under the supervision of deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj Gen Paul Lokech. Four weeks later, Gen Lokech, has revealed that four people have been arrested with the help of footage captured by CCTV cameras.
The spy cameras recorded the assailants moving on two motorcycles going to execute an attack on Gen Katumba. The cameras also recorded the attackers leaving the scene something that helped the police and army intelligence team track down the suspected killers.
At least two of the suspected killers Hussein Lubwama alias Master and Mustafa Kawawa Ramadan alias Amin have been shot dead in the course of investigations. Gen Lokech said Master attempted to fight the forces and he was put out of action whereas Amin stopped his bullets when he was fleeing the scene where the killer guns were recovered.
“We have now recovered the two suspected killer guns, four motorcycles used in the planning, preparation and execution of the many plots, bomb making materials, Al-Qaeda training manuals, several Western Union transfer receipts with foreign funders, T-shirts used in surveillance, mobile phones and an assortment of other exhibits. A pistol was also recovered,” Gen Lokech said.
Gen Lokech said before Master was killed, he had revealed that guns were being kept by one Kasambira alias Mukwasi. Mukwasi led security to Amin who led to forces to Juma Sserwadda and Sserwadda led investigators to Juma Said Seiko’s home in Kanyogoga where two SMGs and a pistol were recovered.
Security said cartridges recovered from Gen Katumba shooting scene match one of the recovered guns which was used to killed Maj Muhammad Kiggundu on November 26, 2016 at Masanafu, Lubaga division in Kampala and AIGP Andrew Kaweesi murder on March 17, 2017. This becomes Uganda’s first major breath through into the hunt for assassins that killed Sheikh Hassan Kirya, Sheikh Mustafa Bahiga, Sheikh Abdul Muwaya, Arua Member of Parliament Col Ibrahim Abiriga, ASP Muhammad Kiggundu and prosecutor Joan Kagezi.