Joshua Kato
10 July 2009
Kampala — Whether they are a new rebel group or a gang of thugs, unknown killers, believed to be armed, are causing fear among residents of Masaka, Ssembabule, Lyantonde and Kalangala districts.
A total of 66 people have been killed under unclear circumstances in these districts in the last five months, according to Police statistics. The statistics show that Masaka leads with 31 cases, 13 of which occurred in Kyanamukaka sub-county alone.
All killings took place under the cover of darkness. The victims were mostly butchered or hacked to death; and little or nothing was robbed from them. Although the Police insist the killings were committed by common thugs, unknown people dropped leaflets in Kyanamukaka claiming they are a group fighting for a federal status for Buganda.
The leaflets warned area Member of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, who is also the Speaker of Parliament: "If you Ssekandi cannot stand the heat of the federo debate, then vacate." The author signed off with the figure 666, which in modern popular culture is associated with the devil. The number is also referred to in the Bible, Revelation 13:17-18, as the number of the beast.
Similar killings have taken place in the three adjacent sub-counties. In just one night, three well-known personalities in Matete were butchered to death. In two of the incidences the killers grabbed household items and cash while in the third nothing was stolen.
David Kayizza Wasswa, who was a popular medic in Matete trading centre, was killed in the nearby Kakinga valley as he returned home on a bicycle from his farm at about 8:00PM on July 1. His mutilated body was found on the roadside the following morning. The perpetrators took off with his bicycle and money.
Yusuf Ssemwogerere, a prominent trader in Matete, was heading for a pit latrine some metres away from his house. The killers were hiding at the periphery of his compound. His blood-soaked body was found hours later. Nothing was taken from him.
The same night, John Ssemakula of Ssembabule was also killed when he went out of his house to ease himself.
A few days later, on July 4, Brother Andrew Mboninyimpe, a headmaster in Lyantonde, was killed at his doorstep as he returned from Kampala. The motive of the murder is still unknown since nothing was taken from him.
"The killers walked away majestically after killing him. They wiped blood off their panga in the grass, before they disappeared," testified one of the school children. Residents of Masaka and Ssembabule are convinced that the killers are rebels or anti-government insurgents. Kyanamukaka sub-county, the most affected area, borders Lake Victoria on one side and Lake Nabugabo on the other.
According to residents, the poorly protected landing sites give the attackers easy access and escape routes through the water. "We have had very few soldiers deployed on those landing sites," says the Kyanamukaka sub-county chairman, Paul Migadde. Charles Lwanga, a resident of Kyesiga village within the sub-county, believes the killers hide in a thick forest called Mujuuze. "We suspect that they hide there during day time and attack us at night. We need soldiers deployed there," he said.
The locals think this is an organised group because the killings have a pattern. Machete and knife wounds have been found on all the bodies. No gun shots were fired yet the killers are thought to be armed. They do not break into houses. All their victims have been found on the road or just outside their houses.
No suspects have been arrested and there seems to be no clear motive. "As long as these killings are not explained, the people are right to conclude that it is the work of the rebels," said MP Hussein Kyanjo, who first blew the lid over the killings.
Steven Mukasa, a local fefence officer, believes the killers are trying to scare people from moving at night so they can carry out their operations uninterrupted. "This might be a scare tactic. They are killing anybody they find outside to stop people from walking at night. This will give them a chance to carry out their anti-government operations without fear of being found out," says Badru Muwanga, one of the LC officials in Kyanamukaka.
The suspicion that a new rebel group is operating in the area was strengthened by the fact that a Policeman was robbed of his gun by three unidentified men, one dressed in a gomesi, near Bwala in Masaka on Wednesday.
The scare tactic is working. In Kyanamukaka not even drunkards dare move at night. Popular drinking joints like 'London bar' go silent as soon as night falls.
It would not be the first time an armed group claims to be fighting for federo. During the 1980s, the Uganda Federal Movement of Andrew Kayiira fought against Milton Obote's Government. It was later integrated into the National Resistance Army.
In the early 1990s, Herbert Kikomeko Itongwa formed another rebel group to fight the NRM Government but they were quickly crushed by the army. Later, a former Buganda Kingdom minister, Duncan Kafeero, tried to establish a new rebel group but it was nipped in the bud. Security forces, however, maintain they are common criminals. "These are common thieves and thugs who initially operated in Kampala, but have since relocated to these areas," says Ssembabule Police chief, Binega Ovuru.
Robberies are not new in Masaka and Ssembabule. Between November 2008 and May 2009, several fuel stations, including one in Ssembabule town and another in Kyazanga, were robbed by thugs. In both cases, the attendants were killed.
What makes the current wave of murders different, however, is that robbery does not seem to be the main motive.
"Some of the cases are a result of land disputes and sexual relationships," says Noah Sserunjogi, Police Spokesman for the mid-western region.
On July 4, the Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, visited the affected areas. "We are doing everything that we can to arrest them. We are actually on their trail," he told residents at Kyesiga trading centre. He also reassured the population that security would improve. Already, Police deployments have increased. Officers from the Crime Crack Unit, the Rapid Response Unit and UPDF soldiers from Masaka barracks have been sent to beef up Police.
Army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye confirmed the deployments but did not want to comment on whether a rebel group was active in Masaka.
Speaker Edward Ssekandi for his part said he was not scared by the threats to his life.
"Whoever is propagating this should know that I have nothing against federo. I cannot single-handedly give federo," he told the security meeting. He dismissed the leaflets as the works of political opponents.
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