Masaka gangster was killed by colleagues - ISO

Kampala. A counter-investigation launched by the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) has revealed that a nurse and a police officer (names withheld) whom President Museveni praised for aiding the elimination of machete-wielding gangsters in Masaka sub-region were allegedly working with the same criminals.

Investigations revealed by ISO director general, Col Kaka Bagyenda, which are yet to be concluded, did not specify the role of the two but indicate that the nurse and police officer were behind the plot that led to the killing of one of the gangsters Muhammad Kiddawalime by the residents and co-accused Musa Galiwango to escape from custody.

Col Kaka said apparently the police officer was boyfriend of the nurse and were both part of the network of the gangsters who had terrorised Masaka area, attacking and killing residents at night using machetes.
“We are very close to finishing our investigations but the findings are pining these two people. The two knew each other and they were in an intimate relationship.

We shall get to the bottom of this,” Col Bagyenda told Daily Monitor in an interview at his office in Kampala.
On March 1 last year, Kiddawalime and Galiwango escaped from the Masaka Chief Magistrate’s Court where they had been charged with murder in the machete attacks.
The duo was waylaid by residents of Mukoko village in Bukullula Sub-county in Kalungu District, killing Kiddawalime as Galiwango escaped.

It was reported that the duo had drilled a hole in the house of the nurse, now implicated, at around 3:49am. The nurse claimed the attackers had raided her in the night as she was sleeping. She raised an alarm, which attracted neighbours to come to her rescue.
However, the ISO investigations revealed a contrasting account after the suspects had been smoked out of their hideout.

Investigations
Investigations indicate that the police officer and his girlfriend first convinced Kiddawalime and Galiwango to escape when they were taken to court.
ISO says the police officer and his girlfriend had calculated that Kiddawalime and Galiwango would be shot by the prison warders if they attempted to escape. This would kill evidence that linked the officer and his girlfriend in the gang’s network.

However, Kiddawalime and Galiwango successfully escaped from court in Masaka.
ISO says the officer and his girlfriend now changed plan and opted for mob action as the alternative.
On the fateful night, the police officer and his girlfriend lured the fugitive gangsters into the latter’s house where she also operated a clinic.
When Galiwango and Kiddawalime arrived in the house, the officer and his lover made an alarm, which attracted the residents. The angry mob captured Kiddawalime and killed him. Galiwango was lucky to escape.
After the incidents in Kalungu, President Museveni called the nurse and the policeman to his home in Rwakitura to appreciate their “patriotism and job well done”
President Museveni reportedly directed that the woman be immediately given a job in appreciation for being brave and calling the neighbours. He also reportedly appreciated the policeman for responding so fast to the incident.

Later reports emerged that the woman had been employed in State House and the policeman reportedly recruited into the Special Forces Command, an elite presidential protection unit, on President Museveni’s directives. We could not independently verify the reports.
“All these revelations have been found in our ongoing interviews and we want to make sure these two people step aside from their current offices to make sure our investigations go on smoothly as planned,” Col Bagyenda said.

Capt Denis Omara, the SFC spokesperson, said he could not find any officer in his records under the names of the said policeman. “I will continue searching in the archives but if he was here, I would have been able to see that already,” Capt Omara said.
By press time, we were unable to get in touch with the policeman.

[email protected]