Katumba shooting exposed poor police organisation, says Museveni

President Museveni has said the assassination attempt against former works and transport minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala which left his daughter and driver dead, exposed the poor organization of the Uganda police.

According to Mr Museveni, the assailants would have been intercepted and arrested if the police was well organized.

“The recent shooting of Gen Katumba Wamala by the usual actors who I called "Pigs" the other day, showed the poor organization of the police. The cameras I put in place did their work. Why didn't the camera managers alert the patrol police to chase these individuals?” Mr Museveni asked as he delivered his state of the nation address at Kololo Independence Grounds on Friday.

According to Mr Museveni, one of the guns that were used to assassinate one of the former commanders of (Allied Democratic Forces) ADF, Maj Muhammed Kiggundu in 2016 is the same weapon which was used to spray bullets at Gen Katumba’s car on June 1, 2021, leaving his daughter Brenda Nantongo and driver, Haruna Kayondo dead.

”The gun which was used in the Katumba attack is already identified. It’s the same weapon which was used in the Maj Kiggundu assassination. A number of those (suspects), not all of them, were arrested but they were released by the courts on bail. Why somebody who has killed people should be released on bail I cannot understand. Bail for what?” Mr Museveni asked.

Mr Museveni’s statement confirmed a Friday Daily Monitor story in which sources close to the investigations told our reporters that 56 cartridges recovered at the scene of crime were examined at the Government Analytical Laboratory (GAL) in Wandegeya, Kampala and the ballistic analysis showed that the AK-47 rifle used to kill Maj Kiggundu was used against Gen Wamala this week.

Gunmen on motorcycles shot Maj Kiggundu dead in Masanafu, a Kampala suburb, on November 26, 2016, in a fashion similar to the Tuesday attack on Gen Katumba.

The gunmen, whose whereabouts remain unknown, fled on two big motorbikes.

It’s against this background that Gen (Rtd) Museveni directed police officers to stop using mobile phones and revert to radio calls as a form of prompt communication in attempt to fight such criminality.

“Henceforth, the police are directed to stop using mobile phones and go back to using radios that are open to all police stations so that they can respond promptly,” Mr Museveni said.