Police arrest Boda boda rider who transported gunman who shot dead Bugiri Imam

Police have arrested the boda boda rider who transported the gunman who shot dead Sheikh Mutumba Masudi, the Imam of Iwemba Masjid Noor in Bugiri district on Friday.

Sheikh Masudi Mutumba, 60, the Iman for Iwemba Mosque in Iwemba parish, Iwemba sub-county in Bugiri district was shot dead as he returned home from prayers at around 9:45 pm on Friday.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga said of the eight suspects so far arrested includes a boda boda rider who transported the killers to and from the crime scene.

“The boda boda rider transported the gunman and another. The lone gunman made his way to the deceased home, called him out, and shot him once to the head killing him instantly,”Enanga said.

It is believed that the gunman used the same boda boda rider to transport him to flee from the scene after completing his mission.

The deceased’s 10-year-old child said he had seen an unknown person trailing them but never bothered to find out who he was and that when they reached home, the Imam received a call and when he went out for better network, he was shot in the head before the assailant took off.

According to the police spokesperson, preliminary investigations indicate that Sheikh Mutumba was killed due to a land wrangle he had with one Suleiman Kouta from Busimba village and that the deceased had won a civil suit in Bugiri high court, prompting the other side to appeal in a higher court but decided to eliminate him for fear of losing the appeal.

“The perpetrators held a meeting in their home and planned the murder well in advance. They hired a boda boda rider who transported the gunman and another,”Enanga said.

The police publicist said they have already known the identity of the shooter after getting leads off the cartridge recovered from the scene, adding that a task force comprising the Homicide, Flying Squad and territorial police from Busoga won’t relent until he is arrested.

Following the gruesome shooting last week, the public was quick to jump to conclusion that the incident was reminiscent of the 2016 killings of Muslim clerics in Eastern Uganda but Enanga allayed any fears.

“We would like to reassure the public that murder has no connection to his faith or to the killing of the Muslim clerics in 2016,” he said.