Nagirinya murder: Tracing the deceased’s last journey of no return
A joint security operation on Friday took the three prime suspects in the kidnap and subsequent murder of Maria Nagirinya and her driver Ronald Kitayimbwa back to the crime scene for reconstruction.
On the night of August 28, unidentified men grabbed driver Ronald Kitayimbwa and Nagirinya, a former employee of Community Integrated Development Initiative, an NGO from her gate in Busega Lungujja before their bodies were later found in Mukono.
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The duo were kidnapped as they arrived at Nagirinya’s home in Lungujja.
The suspect captured driving Nagirinya's vehicle narrates his role in the murder.
Following a joint security raid led by Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) operative at Mabiito Club in Nateete, three people including Hussein Kasolo, Johnson Lubega and Hassan Kisekka were arrested and on Friday, they led investigators to where it all happened.
Traveling in three different vehicles and heavily guarded by armed to teeth officers from the Joint Anti-Terrorist Task Force (JATT) and police the group went to all places where the crime happened in a journey that took over five hours.
The trio first led police officers to a stage near ABC Nursery and Primary School in Nateete along the Kampala –Masaka road from where they picked boda bodas that they used for their mission.
After picking the boda bodas, the group followed Masaka road up and branched off to the road that leads to Lungujja until they reached the gate leading to Nagirinya’s home.
There was heavy security deployment during the exercise on Friday.
When the security detail reached the place where the duo of Nagirinya and her driver Kitayimbwa were kidnapped from near her home, the suspects were on by one removed from the vehicles as they narrated to officers what role they played on the fateful day.
Journalists were not allowed to come near the scene and therefore could not hear what was being said as security officers interrogated the suspects for their role in the kidnap.
With cuffs on their hands, each of the three suspects would make gestures to show security officers the role they played during the kidnap.
Locals who had gathered in big numbers after seeing a heavy security presence in their area looked in awe as the suspects narrated the ordeal of events on the fateful day.
The Journey of no return
From Lungujja, the three suspects took the detectives through the long journey to Mukono where they dumped the two dead bodies.
The trio drove and followed Wakaliga road up to Mengo, from where they branched off via Ssentema road, through Lugala –Masanafu and later joined the Kampala Northern bypass that they followed up to Kireka before joining the Kampala- Jinja highway.
Locals turned up in big numbers to witness what was happening.
On reaching Mukono town, the trio who were now driving Nagirinya’s vehicle branched off to ply the Mukono Kayunga road.
The Killing
According to excerpts from the ongoing investigations, after kidnapping the duo, Kasolo drove Nagirinya’s vehicle, a Toyota Spacio, UBA 570V as the other colleagues tortured their victims.
It is said that the group first killed Kitayimbwa whom they hit with a car jerk on the head before he blacked out.
It is also alleged that they later tortured Nagirinya, forcing her to give up her mobile money account password to them.
The two dead bodies were then dropped at Nakitutuli swamp, Takajjunge zone, Nama Sub County in Mukono district.
Dead bodies recovered
Three days after the kidnap, the two dead bodies were recovered at Nakitutuli swamp, a secluded place off Kayunga road is over six kilometers from Mukono town.
A woman who had gone to her garden was the first to trample onto an unusual object and on further examination, it was a body.
The lady according to eyewitnesses took off as she made an alarm, attracting locals to come to her help.
Nakitutuli swamp, the scene where the dead bodies were dumped.
The terrified lady returned later but as locals gathered, they discovered another body, of a man a few metres from where the first body was.
On Friday, two of the three suspects showed detectives how and where they dropped the dead bodies.
One by one, they got out of their vehicles, amid tight security and on handcuffs to show the role they played at the scene where they dropped the dead bodies of Nagirinya and her driver.
The group was later driven to Namanve on the road that branches off to the industrial park where it is alleged they dropped a fake pistol that they had used to kidnap the duo from Lungujja.
Mobile Money Point
The trio was later driven to Nalukolongo, along the Kampala –Masaka road, from where they withdrew money from Nagirinya’s mobile money account.
Here, just like at other crime scenes, the trio, one by one, got out of the vehicles and narrated how they withdrew the money.
According to sources privy to the investigations, after torturing Nagirinya, she handed over her mobile money password to her tormentors who would later withdraw shs500, 000 from her phone.
One of the suspects leads security to the mobile money point where they withdrew money from Nagirinya's phone.
Meanwhile, it was the mobile money that led to their arrest after investigators tracked the mobile money agent number and she led them to the suspects.
On Friday, the trio was led to Kitooro zone, which is over 400 yards behind Nateete police station where Nagirinya’s vehicle was dropped and recovered three days after her kidnap.
According to Police, investigations into the kidnap and subsequent murder are continuing to tighten the noose around the suspects before being taken to court to answer the charges.
