Questions rise over Bugingo shooting

Two days after the alleged attempt on the life of the high profile Pentecostal church leader, police were yet to record a formal statement from Pastor Aloysius Bugingo about the reported incident.

As social media buzzed with many unanswered questions about the reported shooting in the Kampala city suburb of Namungoona, there was a growing cloud of doubt hanging over what may or may not have happened on the night of Tuesday, January 2 at Bwalakata Junction off National Housing Road in Rubaga Division.

Police were not helping matters by appearing to be withholding even basic information as all sorts of conspiracy theories began to gain traction.

A request by Daily Monitor  for photographs of the pastor’s vehicle was initially turned down by Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) deputy police spokesperson, ASP Luke Owoyesigyire.

“The vehicle is reserved to help police with investigations,” he said.

Later last night, the deputy spokesperson said that “tomorrow (today) morning the vehicle will be taken to Wandegeya Police so media [can go and take photographs]”.

Outside of forensic officers and the police team which, according to ASP Owoyesigyire, first parked the car at Mulago Police Station before taking it to Force headquarters in Naguru where the forensics unit is located, it was not clear if anyone else had seen the car.

This newspaper has established that investigations into the reported shooting of the pastor and murder by shooting of his bodyguard, Cpl Richard Muhumuza is being led by ACP Bob Kagarura, the commander, Criminal Investigations at KMP.

But ACP Kagarura was inaccessible yesterday. His deputy spokesman, ASP Owoyesigyira could only offer the view that the pastor “will make a statement with police any time but the investigations into the matter are still ongoing,” when asked why nothing formal has been recorded.

A day after reports of the alleged shooting incident, the police had indicated they would take a statement from the pastor after he has rested following the shock and trauma he may have suffered.

Pastor Bugingo addressed the press on Wednesday afternoon, and spent a considerable part of yesterday interacting with believers of the House of Prayer Ministries International, the church he leads, at his home.

At the same home, a number of police officers were seen taking photographs with the pastor, raising questions as to why the opportunity could not have been taken to get him to record his statement while his memory of events is still relatively fresh.

As of last night, ASP Owoyesigyire maintained that police is engrossed in reviewing footage from various CCTV cameras as part of the ongoing investigation.

“We are still reviewing the CCTV footage right from his work place in Lungujja up to the route where he was attacked and this will help police to establish whether he was trailed or not,” he said.

Other police sources speaking to Daily Monitor off the record claimed that in one of the CCTV clips it appears as if there was only a lone rider involved in the alleged attack. However, this newspaper could not independently verify this information with the deputy KMP spokesperson.

Separately, efforts by this newspaper to get any indication from the pathologists at Mulago hospital about the findings of the reported postmortem carried out on the body of Cpl Muhumuza were futile by press time.

Unanswered questions

•Why did Bugingo not drive to Nansana police and instead chose to go to Mulago after shooting?

 •Why was he discharged from hospital at night?

 •Why haven’t police taken a statement from Bugingo?

•How did eyewitness see the pastor ducking during shooting yet the vehicle was tinted?

•Why has the picture of the vehicle reportedly riddled with bullets not been made public?

  •How many were the attackers; one or two?

•Was this a political or religious hit?

•How long did it take for police to secure the crime scene?