A woman has been arrested and detained by the army’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) over alleged links to the killers of social worker Maria Nagirinya and her driver, Ronald Kitayimbwa.
Fortune Ayebare Mugisha, the lady who was on Wednesday reported missing in Kireka, Wakiso district, was picked up as security agencies probing the murder close in on the killers. Sources revealed that Mugisha was reportedly in constant communication with one of the people suspected to have participated in the murder of Nagirinya.
However, her communication with the suspect, including the duration, remains a subject of investigations. The team of investigators continues to carry out forensic analysis on the phones of both the victims and suspects.
These details emerged in the heightened probe involving the Police’s Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), CMI and the Internal Security Organisation (ISO). Mugisha was picked up by the Police’s Flying Squad Unit (FSU) who later handed her over to CMI.
By press time, Mugisha was still undergoing intense interrogation by CMI operatives. Arrest confirmed Without divulging details, Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire confirmed that Mugisha had been arrested and dispelled reports that she had been kidnapped.
“The woman (Mugisha) was arrested and is in safe custody. Her parents were also informed accordingly,” Owoyesigyire said.
Preliminary findings indicate that Nagirinya and her driver were killed in the car while being driven away by their abductors. This type of murder in a moving car is fairly new and was first reported in May when kidnappers laid a trap for businessman Wilber Majanja, 54, who was the kingpin in the Nakaseke district cattle trade for decades.
The abductors blocked Majanja with a truck and a motorcycle before grabbing him. The businessman was shoved into their waiting saloon car before they sped off, according to eyewitnesses in Matugga, Wakiso district, where the incident happened.
Police say Majanja was pounded in the stomach several times and strangled while in the moving car as they drove towards Sanga. Whereas the motive of Nagirinya and her driver’s murder remains unclear, Police say that her car had blood stains in it, among other evidence recovered.
Police have so far recorded statements from several people, including Nagirinya’s family members and co-workers. However, contrary to reports, her husband Edgar Gateni was yet to record a statement.
Sources revealed that using camera footage, detectives are still following the routes that the killers used from Lungujja-Busega, the kidnap point, to the area where the bodies were dumped in Mukono district.