How Case Hospital accountant’s murder led to Kitatta’s arrest

On January 3, Francis Ekalungar,49, an accountant with Case Hospital went missing hours after he had left his workplace to go and bank Shs 15 million.

A couple of days later, a burnt body was recovered in Kajjansi, along Entebbe road.

After some DNA tests, police confirmed that the body belonged to Ekalungar.

Fast forward, to Friday January 19, the military including the Joint Anti-Terrorism Team (JATT), Chieftaincy of Military Investigations(CMI),Internal Security Organization(ISO)  arrested Huzair Kiwalabye, who until then was unknown.

His only claim to fame was that he was the brother of Abudallah Kitatta, the chairman of Boda Boda 2010.

Kiwalabye, according to sources, had been arrested in connection to the activities of the notorious boda boda group.

But in the heat of the interrogation, he gave away hints that he knew something or two about the murder of Ekalungar.

Kitatta arrested

Kiwalabye’s arrest was only the tip of the iceberg. There was a bigger fish the police were searching for, his brother Kitatta.

A source within military circles intimated to this website that, the joint operation spent the entire Saturday doing reconnaissance on the whereabouts of Kitatta until he was cited in the city centre.

“We followed him up to King Fahad mosque(in the city) where he spent over two hours but we never gave up.

He drove towards Nateete,”an operative privy to the operation told this website.

It is said that on suspicion that something was wrong, Kitatta who was travelling in a convoy of two vehicles veered off to Vine Tea hotel along Wakaliga road from where he hid in one of the rooms.

The military would then forcefully get him out. They recovered from him an AK47 rifle and a pistol.

With Kitatta safely in custody, security moved fast to act on Kiwalabye’s initial tip regarding Ekalungar’s death.

Moving on the tip off by Kitatta’s brother, the security operatives invaded a house in Ssimbwa zone,Kabowa in Rubaga division from where they arrested Muzamir Mawa 36, Kandi Muhindo,38 and Fagil Muwendo 38.

The three are now prime suspects in the murder of Ekalungar since from their residence, police recovered a Toyota Premio believed to have belonged to the deceased. Its number plates and headlights had reportedly been switched.

One of the three suspects reportedly narrated how they trailed Ekalungar on two boda bodas and a Toyota Super Custom before the motorcycles knocked his Toyota Premio.

It is said that when Ekalungar got out to find out what the case was, men from the Super Custom grabbed him and forced him into the Super Custom before they drove away to an unknown destination.

The rest, as they say is history and it will be a matter for the courts of law to decide.

Yet what is clear is that the death of Ekalungar and the subsequent raid on Boda Boda 2010 offices are inextricably linked.

By the Sunday afternoon, the number of people arrested in the operation was 30, including Kitatta.

They are being detained at the Special Investigations Unit offices in Kireka.