Suicide bomber holds Bishop Wamala hostage for 21 hours

While the public gathered at the Kololo Independence Grounds on January 26, 1992, to mark the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Liberation Day, somewhere in the city another man had other plans.
Lt Bingo left his home and set off for Kololo, ready to blow himself up next to President Museveni and kill the NRM leader.
But Mr Museveni would be saved by the tight security that was around him. On realising that it was impossible to penetrate the security at Kololo and get to the President, Bingo hatched another plan, to take the Archbishop of Kampala hostage.

Bomber takes archbishop hostage
Having failed to kill the President the previous day, Lt Bingo went to Rubaga Hill on January 27, 1992, with the intention of taking Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala hostage.
When he reached the archbishop’s office, Lt Bingo was allowed in to see the clergy like any other visitor. But he was no ordinary visitor.
Bingo told Wamala he was taking him hostage and set his conditions. Among them was that President Museveni pays a ransom before he sets the archbishop free. He also wanted the President to get rid of corrupt permanent secretaries. Bingo said the permanent secretaries had stayed in office for too long.

“On moral grounds, he wanted severe punishment for people who commit adultery. In particular, he wanted to take action against Florian Bar staff whom he accused of infecting his wife with HIV,” Wamala narrated to the congregation at Rubaga Cathedral.

Bingo told the archbishop that he was an army lieutenant, although he never mentioned which army he served in.
Immediately after setting his conditions, Lt Bingo wrote to President Museveni, warning him against using force to intervene. He also asked the archbishop to inform the President of his situation.
The two letters were immediately dispatched to the President, but he ignored Bingo’s warning.

Acknowledging receipt of the letter at the requiem mass of Prof Sebastian Kyalwazi on February 4, 1992, at Rubaga Cathedral, President Museveni said: “I ignored the note and mobilised security. But it had to be planned extremely carefully. Although security forces had surrounded the place, it was meant to appear as if they were only priests and nuns within the vicinity.”
The Weekly Topic and New Vision of February 5 and 6, 1992, respectively reported that “the President further mentioned that he contacted the British High Commissioner in Kampala who offered four personnel to participate in the hostage rescue”.

Archbishop escapes from Bingo
During his captivity, the cardinal took notes of his conversation with his captor.
“The archbishop’s notes, which has a dialogue between the archbishop and Lt Bingo, noted that he would have assassinated President Yoweri Museveni at Kololo if it were not for his care of the people who were seated with the President then (January 26, 1992),” the media reported.
For 21 hours, Cardinal Wamala studied the behaviour of his captor as he planned his escape. The following morning, at about 10am, an opportunity presented itself.

Bingo had gone to the washrooms next to Wamala’s office to ease himself when the archbishop sneaked out through the door that his captor had locked, but left the key on the door.
Rev Fr Joseph Mukasa Nkeera, then information secretary for Kampala Archdiocese, told journalists that Lt Bingo attempted to run after the archbishop, but was stopped by a volley of bullets fired at him by security personnel dressed liked priests who had surrounded the building. Six bullet holes were showed to the journalists.

Bingo blows himself up
Lt Bingo retreated to the room where he had been holding Wamala hostage, and never replied with gun fire.
After about 30 minutes of total silence, a huge blast went off from inside the room where Bingo was holed up. Security personnel say he killed himself with explosives that ripped him to pieces. Lt Bingo blew himself up inside the toilet to avoid being captured alive.
Then director general of the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) Brig (now retired Maj Gen) Jim Muhwezi described Bingo as a psychiatric case.

“Although investigations are not yet complete, Bingo’s actions, as well as suicide in spite of having been given every opportunity to come out of his hiding, was an act of an insane person. So far, we think this is a psychiatric case,” Muhwezi was quoted by media as having said.
Although Muhwezi described Bingo as a psychiatric case, the archbishop thinks Bingo was careful, respectful and vigilant. He described Bingo as very security cautious.
For instance, Bingo refused to take a soda that had already been opened by a nun, but took two bottles that were opened in his presence.

The archbishop also said Bingo was polite as he respected the archbishop’s no smoking demands and only smoked in the toilet during the entire episode.

Why assassinate Museveni
During the 21 hours of captivity, Lt Bingo told the archbishop why he wanted to assassinate President Museveni.
“Many of our people have been killed, but Museveni has not done anything,” he reportedly said, but never mentioned which people and who killed them.
Police records indicated that Lt Bingo was in 1986 charged with robbery and used the names Saidi, alias Semanzandikiyizi.
Information also indicated that he and others armed with guns robbed Paul Bitarabeho of Shs2m and other household items on November 25, 1985.
Lt Bingo was also among the Tabliq youth who in March 1991 allegedly killed four police officers on duty in a scuffle at the Old Kampala Mosque. He and several others were remanded to Luzira prison, but later released on court bail during a special session held at the prison.

Bingo’s bio
Lt Bingo was a 39-year-old taxi driver in Kampala. He was married to a self-employed woman trading in Owino Market in Kampala. Bingo and his wife were residents of Bukejje zone in Makindye, a Kampala suburb.
According to documents from the Central Police Station, Kampala, Bingo was born in 1958.
He was born to a Rwandan-Hutu Muslim father and a Mukiga mother at Rwakaraba village, Kirigyime Sub-county, Ndorwa County, Kabale District.
His father was said to have migrated to Uganda from Rwanda as a labourer and settled in Kabale.