ASP Nampiima was too broke: Thugs tell Police Flying Squad

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Thugs arrested for raiding homes and in some cases killing occupants have told the Police Flying Squad that they never expected Assistant Superintendent of Police Faridah Nampiima to be too broke.

The suspects who include David Mugula, Jamil Ssendawula, Ronald Mbazira, Ibra Nkalubo, and Fahad Akandwanaho have said that they thought Nampiima had valuable items and money before breaking into her house. To their surprise, they said, they were shocked to find only 200,000 shillings in her house.

Nampiima was the Traffic Police Spokesperson until last month when she was transferred to the Public Relations head office at Naguru Police Headquarters. Her home at Asimbwa zone, Kabowa parish, Rubaga division, was raided by thugs on May 13, and they killed a private security guard Matia Kintu Ssalongo. Kintu was hacked as he attempted to confront the thugs who were armed with machetes and an AK47.

The attackers who also beat up the children varnished with mobile phones, a flat television screen and 200,000 shillings. But, in their confession, the group of thugs said that Nampiima was the most broke of all the people they attacked in that period.

The group Led by Nkalubo allegedly said they never wanted to kill Kintu but he was determined to spoil their mission. Nkalubo was arrested days after his apprehended accomplices named him as their ringleader. He has allegedly explained that they have killed three people in their operations including Kintu and two others in Wakiso district.

The group has said they are divided into nine groups and each has different roles. They said the person who steals mobile phones does not participate in motorcycle or car robbery. In addition, the group has explained that they have a car to carry items looted in the night or sometimes deploy German Shepherds for homes where they expect tough security. In cases of stealing vehicles, they move with alternative number plates to replace the original ones.

“Our dogs are too lethal and can tear any ordinary dog or people who intend to disrupt our mission. We also use guns in our mission. We have a car on which we load our looted items but we don’t know where they are taken. We are in most cases paid 100,000 shillings for a night mission,” police source quotes Mbazira and Nkalubo.

Nampiima said on the day they raided her home, she first heard her guard groaning in pain yet he could not respond to her calls.

“They cut the security guard and dumped him at the door. I heard him groaning and when I called him, he did not respond. I was forced to open the house to check on his condition. I didn’t know that the thugs had attacked him and waiting for me to open the house,” Nampiima said.

The Police Flying Squad arrested the suspects after intercepting a vehicle loaded with breaking implements and machetes in Makindye Division. Police later interrogated the suspects who gave uncoordinated accounts about their operations. Some of them have now been taken to reconstruct the scene at Nampiima’s home.

The group was planning to attack a home in Bunga, Makindye division but intelligence tipoff aided Flying Squad to intercept them before reaching the scene. Police have now resolved to first collect all the possible evidence before the group is charged in courts of law.

Luke Owoyesigyire, the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police Spokesperson earlier explained that said some of the suspects particularly Patrick Bewote and Aaron Kayemba have a pending murder case committed in 2022

However, police are yet to get information from the suspects about the people who deploy them and collect stolen items using a vehicle. Also, the two guns the thugs have been using haven’t been recovered. However, Owoyesigyire said information shows all the items looted by the gang have been ending at Cooper Complex but they are still identifying the specific collaborators.

Some of the areas the group have attacked include Kosovo, Kabowa, Nansana, Namungoona, Ndejje, Makindye, Kireka, and Kyanja. Old Kampala, Lugala, Ndejje, and Kosovo police stations have a list of other suspects they are searching for.

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