By KT Reporter
Kiira region Police on Friday confirmed the arrest of suspects behind the killing of a motorcycle rider in Gaddafi barracks in Jinja.
It is reported that the suspects lured 20-year-old Emmanuel Nambi to the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability-URDC level 11, pretending that he was being hired. The rider was never seen alive again.
Ntambi had reportedly informed his colleagues at the Mbiko stage that he had a big deal involving a UPDF soldier. His stage mates then notified the police two days later after realizing that he was missing.
The police’s flying squad launched intensive GPS tracking, which linked them to Gaddafi barracks as Ntambi’s last destination alive. The information corresponded with extracts from CCTV cameras in Jinja, whose footage showed Ntambi riding towards Gaddafi barracks. The cameras did not show Ntambi’s return from Gaddafi.
The Kiira regional police spokesperson, James Mubi, says that, after studying intelligence leads, they engaged the UPDF leadership at Gaddafi barracks, whom he credits for supporting the whole investigation process.
Mubi says that they were able to recover the remains of Ntambi from an undisclosed location. He declined to disclose the exact location in the interest of safeguarding other leads in the investigation.
Mubi says that their forensic teams retrieved blood samples from the crime scene, which were taken for review, and they corresponded well with the deceased, a breakthrough that linked suspects to the crime scene.
He says that they first arrested one UPDF officer and a policeman, whose identities have been withheld for fear of jeopardizing investigations. This, he says, led to the arrest of one Solomon Nowarinda, the prime suspect, who reportedly engineered the crime by luring Ntambi to the crime scene.
Nowarinda’s accomplice, Arafat Busulwa, who reportedly helped him in identifying Ntambi. It is alleged that Busulwa linked Ntambi to his suspected killers.
The other suspect is Yekonia Kevin Mukama, who is believed to be a notorious thief who owns a night parking yard where motorcycles are reportedly dismantled after being stolen from other locations.
The police also arrested Mukama’s business partner, Kassim Kiryowa, who doubles as the night parking yard attendant.
Mubi says that the arrest of Kiryowa and Mukama resulted from the recovery of a blood-stained motorcycle, UGG 556A, which belonged to Ntambi before his death.
Mubi says that the suspects possessed suspicious objects like a knife, hammer, warm suit, and blood samples, which raised suspicion about their involvement in Ntambi’s death.
Mubi further says that the technological evidence implicates the above suspects as accomplices both before and after Ntambi’s killing.
He says that the suspects who are currently detained at Nalufenya police station will face three counts related to kidnap, murder, and aggravated robbery.
Mubi has since challenged all motorcycle riders to be vigilant and to avoidance of seemingly expensive work at night. Mubi notes that such lucrative deals are being used as bait by criminal-minded elements to not only rob motorcycles but also kill riders.
The chairperson of Jinja boda boda association, Eria Musobya, says that this has been a breakthrough investigation by the police.
Musobya says that dozens of motorcycle riders are killed annually; however, suspects are rarely arrested, which has since created room for this form of organized crime to thrive.
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