Suspect in Nagirinya murder case turns against colleagues

A suspect in the ongoing murder trial of social worker Maria Nagirinya, yesterday asked to be relocated to another prison facility after he implicated his co-accused.

This was after Nassif Kalyango, a boda boda rider, told High Court judge Isaac Muwata that in 2019, he was approached by four people who wanted to be transported towards Lungujja, Kampala.

The quartet, who are the accused persons in the ongoing trial, are Copriam Kasolo, aka Arsenal, Johnson Lubega, alias Rasta, Isaac Ssenabulya, alias Kisunsu and a one Fred who is still at large.

“On August 28, 2019, while I was parked at my boda boda stage alone waiting for clients, one of our colleagues who did not have a motorcycle approached me with four passengers, I told him that I could not take all of them. My colleague then left and told me it was up to me to take them or not,” Kalyango said.

He added: “I asked the four passengers if any of them could help me with their phone so that I could call another colleague to come and help out. Kasolo offered to give me his phone, which I used to call Hassan Kiseeka, alias Masadda (now co-accused) who immediately came thus taking the four to Kalerwe.”

Kalyango further told court that Kiseeka’s motorcycle carried Kasolo and Lubega while his carried Ssenabulya and Fred.

He said upon reaching Kalerwe, the men made a brief stopover at unidentified bar where they spent about five minutes before they proceeded to Lungujja.

The accused kidnapped Nagirinya alongside her driver Ronald Kitayimbwa before driving them to Mukono, where they allegedly killed them.

When asked whether he knew his co-accused, including Kasolo, Kalyango replied in the affirmative.

This contrasted the earlier defence of Kasolo, who denied knowing any of his co-accused.

Kalyango also told court that Kasolo asked the boda rider to go a head of them.

He further said as they were approaching Lungujja, Kasolo came back to meet them but this time, he was driving a car while flashing its lights and calling out Ssenabulya to get into the car, which he did and they sped off.

Justice Muwata granted the request made by Kalyango’s lawyer, Mr Julius Sserwambala, to have his client relocated to a different remand facility having given incriminating evidence against his co-accused.

Case

The accused face six counts of murder, kidnap and aggravated robbery, which charges attract up to the maximum penalty of death by hanging on conviction.

Prosecution claims that on August 28, 2019, the suspects and another still at large at Nabisasiro Zone in Rubaga, Kampala and Mukono District kidnapped and murdered Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa.

They deny the charges.

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