Security has retrieved more than 15 threatening messages from the mobile phone that belonged to Joshua Rushegyera Nteireho, who was murdered along the Entebbe-Kampala Expressway a fortnight ago.
“Even if I don’t see you, I will see you in style,” reads one of the threatening messages sent to Nteireho.
It is suspected the messages were sent by different individuals, which suggests that the deceased could have had many enemies, either due to his business or love relationships. In one of the messages, the sender warned Nteireho to back off his wife.
It is unclear whether the sender was Merina Tumukunde’s husband, Mark Rugyenza or another man.
Nteireho was shot dead together with Tumukunde close to Nambigirwa Bridge in Kajjansi town council along the Entebbe- Kampala Expressway as they headed towards Entebbe.
At the scene, the Police said they recovered three cartridges and 27 bullets, the deceased’s phones and the killer gun, which belonged to their officer, David Taremwa. As part of their investigations, the Police have, among others, questioned Tumukunde’s husband in connection to the murder.
In his statement he reportedly said: “On a fateful day, I left my wife in Mbarara, then I drove to Kampala, but hours later, I learned from my friends that she had also followed me to Kampala in the accompany of her friends,” a security source said.
According to the Police, the killer could have been with them in the same car. The Police also suspect that at the time of the shooting, the vehicle was parked.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga, during a press briefing yesterday, said there were potential lines of inquiry which the task force has established that might lead to the real suspects connected to the murder of Tumukunde and Nteireho.
Enanga said the Directorate of Forensics has discovered some distinct DNA samples from the specimens.
“This means the moment we affect arrests, the distinct DNA samples will make it easy for us to match or place the suspects at the scene,” he explained.
Enanga said investigations show that there was involvement of the second and third party (other persons). He noted that the Police cyber and forensic experts have already started extracting data from all connected devices which were at the different scenes of crime along Entebbe Road and after Kajjansi to where the incident occurred.
So far, three suspects are under arrest. They are attached to the Counter-Terrorism Directorate and have been identified as Taremwa, Hassan Mugote, and Wilson Atwijukire.
Taremwa reportedly traveled with Tumukunde and Nteireho from Hidden Treasure Hotel Entebbe, where he had been deployed on guard duties, to Millenium Hotel Zzana.
According to investigators, it was the Police gun (belonging to Taremwa) that was used to kill both Tumukunde and Nteireho. Security is also investigating how Taremwa’s gun remained in Nteireho’s vehicle and who used it to shoot.
According to security sources, investigations are also targeting four city businessmen, including the husband of Tumukunde. Rugyenza runs a chain of outlets in Kampala and Mbarara.
Following the murder, Rugyenza told Sunday Vision that he did not expect his wife in Kampala on the day she was shot dead. Rugyenza said he traveled with his wife from Kampala to Mbarara on Tuesday.
“I then traveled back to Kampala on Wednesday, leaving her at home in Mbarara. But I am now getting to learn that as soon as I left, she teamed up with friends and traveled to Kampala without my knowledge,” he said.
Rugyenza said he was informed on Thursday night that his wife had been shot dead in Kampala. Nteireho previously worked with Civil Aviation Authority and was reportedly into the moneylending business.