Nebanda: Kalungi arrested in Kenya

Details. IGP Kale Kayihura camps in Nairobi for three days to bring back man said to be close to the late MP. P.4

Nebanda’s boyfriend has to explain MP’s death - police

Quick delivery. Police sources say Adam Kalungi was arrested between 2am and 3am in Nairobi and was delivered to Malaba yesterday morning, but Malaba is about 14 hours by road.

About Kalungi. Kalungi was born to a wealthy family in the late 1970’s. His 82-year-old father, Col. Mohammed Suleiman, is a former soldier in Idi Amin’s army. He operated several buses and also owned property in Jinja.
Kalungi is said to have attended St. James and Main Street Primary schools in the early 1980’s, before joining Jinja Secondary School, where he sat his Senior Four. He lived in Kampala by the time Nebanda died.

Mr Adam Suleiman Kalungi, an alleged close associate to the late Butaleja Woman MP Cerinah Nebanda, has been arrested, police have said.

The Inspector General of Police, Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura, said in a statement that Kenyan police apprehended Mr Kalungi in Mombasa. The Kenyan authorities later handed him over to their Ugandan counterparts yesterday morning at Malaba border post in Tororo District, eastern Uganda.

“At this moment, Adam Suleiman Kalungi is in Uganda Police custody to help us with the on-going investigations into the death of the late Cerinah Nebanda,” the IGP said.
“He must explain the events and circumstances that led to the death of Nebanda since it was from his home in Buziga in Kampala, that the suspect and his associates took the deceased to Nsambya General Clinic, where she was pronounced dead.”

The Deputy Police Spokesperson, Mr Vicent Ssekate, who hand-delivered the statement to this newspaper yesterday morning (at about 8am), said Mr Kalungi was arrested between 2am and 3am.

He, however, later said they got the fugitive at Malaba at 3am. Mombasa is at least a 14-hour drive from Malaba. The government alleges that Mr Kalungi is a “known peddler” of narcotic drugs, and that its toxicological tests established there were traces of heroine, cocaine, and alcohol in the deceased legislator’s body.

Mr Kalungi, who police want to interview over the death, has not been charged with any offence. Police say his arrest gives them an opportunity to piece together the events that preceded the MP’s sudden death on the evening of December 14.

The hunt
Highly placed police sources told this newspaper that the police crime intelligence division tracked Mr Kalungi down to Mombasa, where he is believed to have relatives.
Gen. Kayihura personally travelled to Nairobi and spent three days working with his Kenyan counterparts to oversee the arrest and extradition.

“One of the things that helped was that Mr Kalungi is a Ugandan citizen so it was easy to sort that through,” a police source told this newspaper. Mr Kalungi had not cleared through immigration on his way out of the country and Kenyan police deported him on an immigration offence, the source added.

Ugandan police were waiting to take him into custody on this side of the border.
Police last month arrested three people, Ali Omara Al-Muzahim, Ibrahim Muhammed, Abdi Rashid-Bott, suspected to be acquaintances of Mr Kalungi.

MPs Chris Baryomunsi (Kinkizi West) and Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central), were also arrested for allegedly interfering with the investigations into the death following their comments.

They were charged and released on bail. Police also want to interview Dr Sam Lyomoki (Workers), Dr Medard Bitekyerezo (Mbarara Municipality), Mr Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga) and Ms Betty Nambooze (Mukono Municipality) for “inciting” the public.

nwesonga@ug.nationmedia.com