A 32-year-old man, Mukiga by tribe and a driver by profession, has been arrested at his ancestral home in Rwakimuri village, Bukinda Sub County in Rukiga District on allegations of being a member of a gang involved in the kidnapping and murder of young girls in Kajjaansi, Kampala.
The Kigezi regional police spokesperson, Mr Elly Maate, identified the suspect as Isaac Niwagaba adding that the operation to arrest him was a combined effort of the police detectives from Rukiga District and those of Kajjansi police station, led by Geoffrey Ongomu.
“The arrest took place on Saturday afternoon at his residence in Rukiga. The police detectives from Rukiga District, together with their counterparts from Kajjansi police station in Kampala, mounted the successful operation. Detectives from Kajjansi in Kampala, led by Geoffrey Ongomu, said that the suspect had been implicated in different kidnapping and murder cases of young girls using a taxi he was driving. It’s also alleged that the suspect is implicated in four different murder cases of girls in the Kajjansi area,” he said in a statement released on Sunday.
Mr Maate added that the suspect together with his colleagues still at large, have been disguising themselves as taxi operators and after seducing young girls to enter their taxi, they would strangle them and thereafter dump their bodies in the nearby bushes within Kampala.
“It’s alleged that recently, he masterminded the murder of Nassali Jenina, a resident of Kawuku and ran away with her phone, and it was found in his possession. This suspect has been hiding in Rukiga District after committing the alleged criminal acts and would later return to Kampala when the dust settles,” Mr Maate added.
The area LC1 chairman, Mr Bernard Timushema said that local residents were surprised to learn that Niwagaba was involved in such high-profile criminal acts, saying he is always humble while in the village.