Five years later, I’m still seeking justice for my husband

Let’s try and reconstruct the story of your husband’s death. How did you find out?
I found out about his death from Mr Ben Zziwa who was my husband’s driver. It was around 3pm London Time, I was coming from a meeting at work when my work mobile rang. After listening to Zziwa’s utterances, he told me that my husband had been murdered and he hung up.
I had spoken to him that night and he was okay. He was looking forward to seeing us in April. We had plans to settle back to Uganda and live there permanently. He had spent Christmas with us in December 2011; while he was here he had talked about being increasingly lonely and wanted us to come home.
I readily accepted his request because I always wanted to come home but he had suggested after we renewed our vows in 2010 that I return to London until he set something up in my line of work for me to run.

Why would Zziwa call you first and not the police? This has been based on by some to suggest you and him had a plot…
Mr Zziwa, the deceased and myself were close. He used to spend a lot of time at our home in Mutungo. Through him I even purchased a piece of land on Entebbe road in Kitende.
I was not the first person Mr Zziwa called, I hired a private detective who was able to obtain his mobile phone print out and call log for the day. He had called the police first then there also seemed to be a few phone calls from the suspect, Hassim Ssali. This is the suspect that ended up dead in the custody of the police at Bukasa and an inquest by the magistrates’ court in Makindye confirmed he was strangled.
Zziwa informed us and police that he questioned his source and he told him that a Ms Jolly Kasande [a mistress of my late husband] had called him to inform him of her ex-partner’s demise. This is how those who thought I was vulnerable enough tried to connect me to my husband’s demise.

Or maybe you bought his silence so he could cover up for you?
That is outrageous! In fact, he did everything to prove to the police that I was not involved by showing them the receipts and agreement of the land he had purchased for me and the receipts to the transaction for the money.
I became a suspect not only because I had spoken to Zziwa, but I had also spoken to my husband for about an hour the night before his demise. We spoke almost every day except for the days I was extremely busy at work.

Did you report the murder to police?
Ben Zziwa my late husband’s driver reported the murder to the police as he was first at the scene.

Why then did you hire private investigators in a country where police has executed some of the most successful murder inquiries in the region?
A week after my husbands’ murder, while on my way to Jinja Road Police Station, I received a phone call from an Investigating Officer (IO), one Moses Tamuheza informing me that he wanted me to go and make a statement.
The only person I had called with that number was Nasser Lubega; I was curious as to how Tamuheza had got my number as I had only just got the line.
I back-checked with Lubega who denied giving my number to the police. I met the IO that evening, I had an interview with him and to my surprise there was very little on file.
As I recovered my senses, it seemed to me there was very little to go on forward with the case, more so the police did not seem interested. I wrote to the criminal investigations department director Grace Akullo, with concern about the direction the investigation was taking.
In return, Ms Akullo, as I later understood, contacted them and their explanation was that they had applied for funds to obtain the mobile print outs of the late Wamala, Sadiq Mugerwa, Ben Zziwa and Jolly Kasande.
In my assessment of the print outs and report obtained from this information there were highly incriminating evidence on some individuals.
To date they do not only appear in the file but might have disappeared or have been erased forever.

At what point did the police pick interest in you?
I suspect after I had contacted Grace Akullo. When a second interview was conducted, I was interrogated in front of seven people. From that interrogation, I was sent to another with the IO.
During this other interrogation, one Gumisiriza of CID attending informed me that I was required to return the following day. I was happy to attend because at least it seemed like something was being done.
That following day, I would meet the regional Internal Security Organisation, Kampala Eastern chief as my interrogator. On this day it dawned on me that someone within the Force was behind my husband’s murder and was desperately trying to pin it on me because I dared to show interest.

You accused a senior police officer (name withheld) of the murder. What was your basis?
First of all, this senior officer of the Uganda Police Force dragged himself to the forefront of this murder. Firstly, not only had he been involved in diverting the course of justice in the murder investigation, but he also was personally involved in the issues regarding the estate, not as a police officer but as someone who stood to gain from it.

What was that role?
The police were not willing to work with me and yet seemed to have a good relationship with the other suspects. They intentionally ignored the motive for the murder when they left the deceased’s property in the hands of conspirators who were fronted as his relatives.
At some point this officer ordered sergeant Munaku, a scene of crime officer, to hand over photographs that were taken at the scene of crime. Mark Odong informed him (Munaku) that this officer is the one who wanted them.
This was done a year after the file had been removed from his area of command therefore; if it is not for the cover up, it remains unclear why he needed them. This information is still missing on file.

That still doesn’t implicate this officer…
Another pointer is the murder of Hassim Ssali. When police failed to arrest Ssali per Director Public Prosecutions’ instructions, we privately apprehended him and this officer through Jinja Road Police Station tried to strike a deal with those who had arrested Ssali to deliver him to Jinja Road police station.
When that deal fell through, he threatened the officers that had assisted us. All the police stations in the area who assisted in the pursuit were calling a police officer called Joseph Patrick Segujja to inform him that he had placed their positions in a lot of danger.
The officer was calling and intimidating them. I happened to be in Segujja’s company at the time, I heard everything and I just could not believe that all along this senior police officer knew about this murder.

What happened to Patrick Segujja?
He is currently in exile. Segujja left the country because of the danger and threats that he was subjected to. We actually have a witness through our private investigation who confirms that on the night of Ssali’s murder at Bukasa police post this senior officer, another officer and a lady were present at Bukasa police station. The story of his murder in a police cell is well captured by the inquest conducted by court.

This officer has accused you of going out to taint his name and alleged that you do this through the police, journalists and other security agencies
That is bunkum! This officer has publicly intimidated and confronted media platforms for getting involved with coverage regarding the murder investigation and shows. He has blackmailed them by suggesting that they have been paid to tarnish his name.

It’s said that you started accusing him when he raised the issue of having the Administrator General settle the property dispute
First and foremost, there was never a dispute over property. My sole aim was always to find out who had killed the late Wamala; however this theory of me fighting for property is a diversionary tactic used to mislead those who fail to understand that the motive behind Wamala’s death was property.
Whoever had interest in the late Wamala’s estate knew something about his death. The property has since day one been in the hands of those who killed him and this fact still holds to date.
The matrimonial home was under lock and key for nine months, the shops were opened and run by them soon after his death, something we complained about but were ignored.
The construction site in Kampala has been under lock and key for the last five years under their guard.

You lost the property contest in court which some say is evidence you were after property
Nothing has been lost; no one can claim to have won or lost the contest until the court of last resort pronounces itself on this matter. We were dissatisfied with the finding of court to the effect that a lady with no evidence of marriage to Wamala was found to be the rightful owner of the property.
We are at Supreme Court and we are waiting for judgment which is due any time.

One veteran journalist told me you are a suspect in the murder and described you as a crook who went up to the President to change the narrative
If pursuing justice for my dead husband’s killers qualifies me for the position then I am okay to be defined as a crook. When you look at the evidence presented at the inquest it is clear that the police knew everything about this murder.

Under no circumstances have I ever exonerated myself from this investigation, I am still under investigation as much as anyone else. Is this journalist trying to undermine the President’s level of intelligence too?
I was informed that before the President gets involved in cases such as this one, he carries out his own investigations using not one but more than two teams, he compares the reports. If there was no element of truth in their findings, there was no way he could have ever invited us to his office.

I am aware this matter has reached the President who met you and later Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura and DPP Mike Chibita with the aim of bringing Wamala’s murderers to book. What is the progress thus far?
He invited the IGP and DPP to the second meeting after I had explained my reasons why I thought there were stumbling blocks in the Force perverting the course of justice.

The DPP explained that the police had not cooperated, the IGP claimed he was not very familiar with the case but I let him be, he was right that the CID works directly with the DPP’s office with such cases hence any failures had to be directly attributed to the directorate.

Can you estimate Wamala’s wealth? What did he own?
The late Wamala was not a rich man but had enough to live by. His wholesale T-shirt business had taken off but was still growing; he was in the process of building apartments at the construction site in Muyenga. This project is what we believe the murderers wanted and is what triggered their envy to kill him. The T-shirt business has since closed.

What has this case taught you about the Uganda’s justice system?
The justice system in Uganda leaves a lot to be desired. It is in shambles.