Sylencer Ssempaka Nsubuga, a prominent businessman, was apprehended by the Joint Anti-Terrorism (JATT) operatives, eight years after the abduction and murder of Eritrean businessman Daniel Michael Weldu in 2016.
The Abduction and Murder
Daniel Michael Weldu was kidnapped on October 27, 2016, from Kololo, a suburb of Kampala. His body was found burned, seemingly in an effort to disguise the cause of death and conceal his identity.
The Arrest
Nsubuga was captured in May by JATT operatives from the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence in Munyonyo, Kampala. His international movements had been under surveillance.
Alongside Nsubuga, Edgar Mukundane, a South Africa-based businessman, and Superintendent of Police Douglas Bawe, formerly in charge of criminal investigations in Nyendo, were also detained.
However, Bawe and Mukundane have since been released on bond pending further inquiries.
The Background
Weldu, a resident of Muyenga in the Makindye division, had businesses in Uganda and South Sudan. Preliminary police investigations revealed that during his abduction, Weldu was threatened with false charges, sedated, robbed, and eventually murdered for the money in his accounts.
Before his arrest, Nsubuga fled to Nairobi, Kenya.
A team dispatched to track him down forced him to flee to Bangkok, Thailand, where he stayed for about five years.
Despite being abroad, Nsubuga remained on the security radar, as he maintained communication with friends, relatives, and business associates in Kampala.
Security operatives discovered Nsubuga’s interest in the gold trade and lured him back to Kampala with the promise that the Weldu case had been shelved.
Using a close associate as bait, Nsubuga returned to Kampala in May, where he was subsequently arrested.
“The return was through a well-orchestrated gold deal, in which Nsubuga expected to get billions of shillings. The deal led to his arrest,” a source revealed.
50-Year Conviction
In 2021, the High Court in Kampala sentenced Capt. Bumali Mangeni of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces to 50 years in prison for masterminding Weldu’s kidnap and murder.
Mangeni was convicted alongside two civilians, Benon Duncan Lumu and Andrew Kisitu.
The judge also ordered the convicts to pay 200 million shillings to Weldu’s family in compensation and to refund the stolen money.
Emerging Crime Wave
In 2016, the Police warned of a new crime wave where bank employees collude with criminals to steal clients’ money. Several businessmen, including Weldu, had their money withdrawn under suspicious circumstances.
In Weldu’s case, his account at Stanbic Bank was cleared out after his murder. Another incident in March 2017 involved a $65,000 (about 236 million shillings) scam where money was withdrawn from Michael Gebremariam Teklegzi’s account in Kenya Commercial Bank.
Investigations and Findings
During the 2016 murder investigation, former Police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi revealed that a banker leaked Weldu’s bank statement to the suspects.
The suspects befriended Weldu with false promises, including securing a visa to Germany for business. When they discovered Weldu had €2.11 million (8 billion shillings) in his Ugandan bank account, they plotted to eliminate him to steal the money.
Weldu was reported missing on October 27, 2016, and his body was found dumped on a farm in Busia district, Kenya.
Police stated that the suspects colluded with two local banks (names withheld) to transfer Weldu’s money.
Further Targets
Weldu was not the only target. Another Eritrean national was targeted in October 2016 but survived the attempt on his life. His 7.5 billion shillings, which had been targeted, was not withdrawn.
