The man suspected of killing five women in Kajjansi on Entebbe Road has recorded an extra-judicial statement at the magistrates’ court, according to a Police officer involved in the investigation.
The officer revealed that the suspect, Isaac Niwagaba, claimed he acted alone, contradicting earlier Police statements on Monday indicating the involvement of three other accomplices.
NO CLEAR MOTIVE
Police have not yet established a clear motive for the murders. Investigations are ongoing, with Police teams probing various locations Niwagaba allegedly visited, including those of witchdoctors where he is believed to have sought cleansing rituals. During initial interrogations, Niwagaba appeared to be possessed by spirits, adding a complex layer to the investigation, the officer added.
Authorities are working diligently to uncover the full extent of Niwagaba’s activities and any underlying motivations behind the gruesome crimes.
Niwagaba told detectives that his first victim was his girlfriend.
“He claimed that after the murder, a colleague advised him to seek a traditional healer for cleansing. Following this gruesome act, Niwagaba’s suspicion grew as his girlfriend’s friend began to suspect him of the crime. To silence her, Niwagaba lured and murdered her as well,” a cop close to the investigations said.
VISIT TO TRADITIONAL HEALER
“It was during his second visit to the same traditional healer that Niwagaba was introduced to the possibility of obtaining wealth through further killings. This proposition set Niwagaba on a deadly path,” the detective added, describing Niwagaba as a “sadist” whose appetite for money and blood combined to fuel the current episode of murders at Kajjansi on the Kampala-Entebbe highway.
“He was a jilted lover who turned his initial crime into a habit. Having gotten away with one murder, he continued to kill the other women he pursued, turning it into a habit. He started off being jilted and then turned it into a compulsive behaviour,” the detective said.
OTHER VICTIMS
The most recent case involved the disappearance of Sandra Nangobi on May 15, 2024. Her mother, Sulaina Tendo, reported her missing after Nangobi left her home in Kitende “B” cell, Kajjansi, at 5:00am but did not arrive at her workplace in Makindye, Kampala. Her phone was switched off and her whereabouts remained unknown until this week.
On May 9, 2024, another unidentified woman’s body was found along the Jjanja-Lutembe Beach road at around 9:00am. The body had been dumped by an unknown vehicle, according to witnesses.
Another victim, Jenipher Nassali, was found on April 29, 2024, in Bweya cell, Kajjansi town council.
Police said she had been strangled, with her face blindfolded in a polythene bag. On April 23, 2024, the body of an unidentified woman was also discovered in a sack in Kawotto cell, Kajjansi town council.
A male suspect was captured on camera fleeing the scene after setting the body on fire. Police said the first incident with similar hallmarks occurred on March 31, 2024, when the body of 25-yearold Judith Awori, a waitress at Royal Ark Restaurant in Lweza cell, Ndejje, Kajjansi town council, was found near St Luke’s Church in Lweza. Awori had also been strangled.
A senior officer who spoke to New Vision yesterday said Niwagaba said that one of his victims had allegedly fleeced him of sh200, 000.
“Feeling betrayed and enraged by the financial loss, Niwagaba lured the woman and murdered her in retaliation. He kills as if it is a ritual. The pattern is clear; he continues to kill like it’s a compulsive act,” the officer said.
Substantial evidence, including the cellular phone of one of the victims, linked Nuwagaba’s gang to the disappearance and deaths of the six women. Niwagaba aka Mukiga, was picked up on Saturday, May 18 from a hideout in Rwakimuli cell, Bukinda trading centre, Bukinda sub-county in Rukiga district.
Alongside Nuwagaba, taxi touts Abbas Katongole, Ronald Matovu and Ivan Bawongo, were also arrested. The gang used a taxi, registration number UAU 738T, to lure the victims.
“It is said Nuwagaba had been using the deceased’s phone, which the Police tracked, and at the time of arrest on Saturday, he was still using it to communicate with his associates. It has been kept as an exhibit. It was also key in apprehending his accomplices,” a detective said
