By KT Reporter
Preliminary investigations indicate that the killing of Jinja City businessman, Swaibu Katongole was planned by individuals close to him and aware of his daily movements.
Katongole was killed on Tuesday as he arrived home, along Lubogo road, in Southern Division. The attackers allegedly pulled him out of his pickup vehicle and hit him with a suspected blunt object in the head before fleeing.
One of the deceased’s workers preferred anonymity says that the attackers used spare keys to access the home. “It raises suspicion that whoever killed the boss lives amongst us, as they confidently followed him all through to the house,” he says.
He further says that the house helpers normally open the main house whenever their boss returns home, but it is suspicious that the suspects used spare keys normally kept in his car, opened the house, and dismantled a few items, before fleeing.
He further says that, although they were inside the premises, with guards on duty presumably patrolling the whole area, none of them heard or witnessed anything unusual, raising suspicion that, their boss probably presumed that, the guests were his usual friends.
A detective who spoke on condition of anonymity says that preliminary investigations indicate that, the assailants have been tracking Katongole for about one year.
He says that, since the house has many employees, some of them might have coordinated with the attackers to switch off the CCTV, during the time Katongole was killed.
According to the detective, using Katongole’s private keys to steal his 52-inch television set and disorganize the house was just a coverup to mislead investigators into thinking that, whoever committed this crime was a thief.
He says that Katongole’s killers were well known to him and that the dogs, which are normally freed at 7:00 pm never barked at the time of the attack.
Kiira Regional Police Spokesperson, James Mubi said that all available leads indicate that, the killing was planned, but the suspicion of whether it was an inside job is still subject to further investigations.
Mubi says that the district security committee has agreed to dispatch detectives to revisit the crime scene. He says several exhibits ranging from a blood-stained T-shirt and a big stick covered in blood were retrieved from the staff houses, raising suspicion about their involvement in the crime.
Mubi says that they further re-evaluated important leads, which led to the arrest of two suspects, still detained at Jinja central police station.
Katongole was a real estate dealer, and transporter, operating several restaurants in Jinja city and the surrounding districts and employing about 200 people in all his businesses-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
