Vehicle past ribbon area
Uganda Police investigators so far appear set to leave many stones unturned from the way they have approached the morning murder of Brenda Nantongo Wamala and attempted assassination of her father, former Chief of Defence Forces and outgoing Works minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala.
Investigating the attack in which Gen Katumba’s driver Haruna Kayondo was also killed by gun wielding men who severally shot at his official army vehicle H4DF 2138 on Kisota road, Kawempe North, in Kampala City, police took two and half hours before sealing off the crime scene, after it had been trampled by hundreds of feet.
Although police arrived at the scene where the broad daylight murder took place in the city over 30 minutes later, it still took them another 2 hours to properly secure the scene. The first policemen to arrive at the shooting area failed to control the crowd that was growing fast.
Police and civilians all first focused on catching a glimpse of the two victims whose bodies were still inside the car. At this time, Gen Katumba had been rushed to hospital. A number of police commanders mostly at the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police –ASP arrived and later ordered for securing of the scene.
A tape covering a length of about 30 metres was erected to cordon off the scene. However, uniformed and ununiformed security personnel kept coming in and walking straight to the scene. This was before and after Scene of Crime Officers commonly known as SOCOs had arrived.
But when the SOCOs started reconstructing the scene, they saw bullet cartridges in about 80 metres. They then ordered for extension of the cordon in order to widen the areas of search.
As SOCOs were taking pictures and combing the area to capture any possible exhibits that could be of help in tracing the attackers, security officers in a vehicle bearing a number plate like those commonly used by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) UBJ 016N came in driving at breakneck speed and entered deep inside the already secured scene.
SOCOs were seen shaking their heads in disgust and disbelief at what the security men had just done.
With the arrival of crime intelligence director Brig Chris Damulira, the scene was again extended after more bullet shells were discovered in a distance of more than 120 metres.
Brig Damulira immediately ordered military and police vehicles to be removed from the cordoned-off area. With Damulira having restored the authority of police over the scene, civilians and including security personnel were directed to move to a farther-off distance in order to give enough space for SOCOs to execute their duties.
The deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj Gen Paul Lokech, arrived at around a half past 11am and also ordered his guards supported by Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force- JATT and Counter-Terrorism to further push the onlookers away.
In nutshell, police and sister security agencies have once again failed to secure the crime scene, the same mistakes they did in the assassinations of AIGP Andrew Kaweesi, Col Ibrahim Abiriga, Maj Muhammad Kiggundu, ASP Muhammad Kirumira where they did not control civilians and themselves from contaminating the crime scenes.
By press time, security sources said five Closed Circuit Television –CCTV videos from private homes had been retrieved, showing how the whole incident was orchestrated. From the crime scene, there are four murram access routes which the attackers could have used to flee from the scene.
-URN
