Unmasking the mastermind of Rakai, Masaka killings

who is he?

The Deputy Director of Criminal Investigations, Godfrey Musana, describes Fred Mujulizi as a man always moving on motor bikes and highly dangerous.
Mujulizi is said to be operating in areas of Masaka, Sanga, Kalisizo, Kyazanga and Lyantonde where he has left a trail of murders in his wake.

Mujulizi reportedly has plots of land and a house in Gayaza where two people - a man and woman - were recently found tied up and killed.
Up to 35 people have been killed in a similar manner in greater Masaka region this year.
Mujulizi, who at times calls himself Abdul, is believed to be a contract killer.

Recently, the Uganda Police Force released photographs of Fred Mujulizi, the man they want over a number of killings in Rakai District.

Method of operation
Using the same method of operation, Mujulizi together with his accomplices dig through the walls of their victims’ homes and hack them to death before slipping away.

His victims
Mujulizi’s last victims were nine members of Kyebe Pentecostal Church in Kyebe Sub-county, Rakai District. This killing shocked the nation when local media ran pictures of coffins of Noeline Nalinya; Bena Nakivumbi, Jane Nakiwala, Christine Nasimbwa, Max Nakirijja, Dan Ssemwanga, Andrew Mpeirwe and Maria Nakajugo Musanya were lined up for burial in Rakai.
Barely a week later, another family was attacked and a 52-year-old Urita Nabasagi, a resident of Kyakaleera village, Kirumba Sub-County, Rakai, was hacked to death in the presence of her two grandchildren at around 3am. Surprisingly, the killers spared her two grand children they found in the house.

Masaka case
In 2012, groups of assailants went on rampage in Kyanamukaka Sub-county in Masaka District in 2012, killing seven members of two families in two days.
Such is the trail of Mujulizi, who police had previously arrested on four occasions only to bribe his way out and runaway.
The death of the two families was confirmation of reprisal killings after Pastor Steven Mugambe of Kyebe Pentecostal Church reported that Mujulizi had allegedly threatened to kill him after Mugambe informed police about his heinous acts.
Police made an appeal to the public to help find Mujulizi had after all efforts to track him down failed.

Who is Mujulizi
The deputy Director of Criminal Investigations, Mr Godfrey Musana, described Mujulizi as a man always moving on motor bikes and highly dangerous. He will not hesitate to kill anybody he suspects is of to tell police about his whereabouts.
Mujulizi is said to be operating in areas of Masaka, Sanga, Kalisizo, Kyazanga and Lyantonde where he has left a trail of killings in his wake.

Mujulizi reportedly has plots of land and a house in Gayaza where two people - a man and woman - were recently found tied up and killed.
Up to 35 people have been killed in a similar manner in greater Masaka region this year.
Mujulizi, who at times calls himself Abdul, is believed to be a contract killer.

If police ever arrest Mujulizi, it will not be the first time.
Mujulizi was first arrested in 2009 at the time when the Rapid Response Unit, formerly the Violent Crime Crack Unit, was in operation.

At the time, it had been rumoured that there were rebels in Masaka, a claim that was disputed by the head of the unit, and this prompted him to set up a camp there for two months.
During the two months, the head of the unit gathered information from different people, including Pastor Mugambe, that later led police to Kawuku on Entebbe Road where Mujulizi was arrested in a shrine.
Upon arrest, Mujulizi confessed to 17 murders in his area of operation.

After his arrest, Mujulizi was taken to Lyantonde District and was locked up at Lyantonde Police Station where he would lead police to other accomplices.

Escape from police
The Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, was this year supposed to address a church service and confirm the arrest of the serial killer but Mujulizi escaped from detention.
He had been locked up in a unipot that acted as a police cell. However, during the night, an officer and a Local Defence Unit officer approached Mujulizi and told him to save himself or else, he was going to die.

Mujulizi obliged and forked out Shs100,000 which he had hidden in his anus and gave to the security officers. The duo lifted the unipot, removed the handcuffs and Mujulizi soon took to his heels. He had escaped the arrest.
The escape paralysed the Rapid Response Unit bosses who then arrested both the police officer and the LDU.

Fresh hunt
Getting back to the drawing board, the RRU team traced Mujulizi to Sembabule District where he had hired a house and is living there as a boda boda operator.
Upon arrest, Mujulizi told the RRU team that he had killed a boda boda cyclist from whom he had acquired the motorcycle to start boda boda business in Lyantonde.

Upon arrest, Mujulizi was brought to Masaka Police Station and it was while there that Mujulizi made threats to deal with Pastor Mugambe who he said had leaked his acts to the police.

His second chance
In Masaka, the RRU team called for all files against Mujulizi to be brought to Masaka Police Station with an understanding that after, he would be brought and charged in a court in Kampala and remanded in Luzira prison where he could be closely monitored.
However, police in Masaka failed to heed to the directive and instead took him to Mbarara where he was charged with murder and later remanded to Kyamugolanyi prison. Mujulizi had apparently participated in the murder of his step father who was killed over property.
Just one week later, Mujulizi escaped from Kyamugolanyi Prison. The RRU team still learnt of his escape and later traced him and arrested him in Ishaka – Bushenyi where he was hiding.
This time round he was brought to the RRU headquarters in Kireka where he was kept.

Money and bizarre escape
Unknown to the RRU operatives, Mujulizi had just sold his plot of land and had money with him.
RRU operatives reportedly hatched a plan with him in which he had promised full cooperation and even lead them to Masindi to arrest his accomplices.

Mujulizi was driven to Lake Albert to allegedly find and arrest his accomplices but was instead released under unclear circumstances and left to roam again.
The RRU operatives claimed that Mujulizi had escaped while they were sailing on Lake Albert by pushing two policemen who had been deployed to guard him into the lake.
However, the operatives’ story did not add up, especially when they claimed that Mujulizi had been handcuffed. People wondered how he had swum to safety.
Issues were made more complicated when the two policemen, who had allegedly drowned, were later seen.

On mission - again
After his escape, Mujulizi returned to Rakai and descended on Pastor Mujulizi’s family and later also turned on his witchdoctor and killed her.
Angered by the escape, Gen Kayihura suspended some of the RRU operatives but later reinstated them and are serving in the Uganda Police Force.

Encounter with police and repeated escapes
Mujulizi was first arrested in 2009 at the time when the Rapid Response Unit, formerly the Violent Crime Crack Unit, was in operation.
He was then taken to Lyantonde District and was locked up at Lyantonde Police Station where he would lead police to other accomplices.

Escape from police
Mujulizi had been locked up in a unipot that acted as a police cell. However, during the night, a police officer and a Local Defence Unit officer approached Mujulizi and told him to save himself or else he was going to die.
Mujulizi obliged and forked out Shs100,000 which he had hidden in his anus and gave to the security officers. He was set free.

Mujulizi was again traced to Sembabule District where he had hired a house and living there as a boda boda operator.
He was arrested again and taken to Masaka Police Station. However, when he was taken to Mbarara and not to Luzira as had earlier been directed, he escaped. Mujulizi was again arrested in Ishaka-Bushenyi and taken to RRU in Kireka, a Kampala suburb.

When he was taken to arrest his accomplices, Mujilizi pushed security officials on Lake Albert and escaped. But the operatives were later seen, a thing which raised eyebrows on how Mujulizi escaped.

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