Who killed UCU business student, dumped body in a bar?

On January 16, 2025, James Byandala, a 21-year-old student at Uganda Christian University (UCU), mysteriously disappeared. The body of Byandala, a first-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Procurement and Logistics Management (BPLM), was exhumed from a city cemetery following weeks of a frantic search by friends, relatives and family.

His sudden disappearance and eventual death continues to haunt those who knew him.

But, what really happened? Friends said Byandala, a resident of Nalumunye Mutundwe-Jomayi Estate in Wakiso district, was a “bright” and “dedicated” student with an impressive academic track record.

The disappearance

Friends told New Vision that before he disappeared, Byandala attended classes at UCU’s Mukono campus on January 8, 2025. He then headed home at Nalumunye to celebrate his birthday on January 9.

After what friends described as “a good” birthday party, he returned to campus on January 14.

“The following day, Byandala spent time at his friend Aine Mark’s hostel in Mukono, where he planned a party with another friend, Charles Mulangwa, who was known as “Young Pablo” by stage name in the bar. Byandala’s plans included attending a party at Casablanca Bar, a popular nightlife spot in Mukono,” a friend told the Police in Mukono.

According to Police, at about 6:00pm on January 15, 2025, Byandala left Aine’s hostel to prepare for the event at Casablanca Bar.

“He later confirmed through a WhatsApp message that he had arrived at the venue and was enjoying the night with Mulangwa. This would be the last communication Aine received from his friend,” a close friend told Police.

The dark turn

“The next day, Aine attempted to reach Byandala, but there was no response. Aine contacted Mulangwa, who revealed that Byandala had left the bar.

However, reports later surfaced that Byandala had died inside the bar. Shockingly, Mulangwa, who was not only a student, but also worked at Casablanca, failed to notify the university or the authorities about his friend’s death. Instead, the bar’s management chose to stay silent about the incident for almost a day,” another friend told Police in his statement.

Police has since established that it was not until the evening of January 16, the following day after his death, that the management of Casablanca Bar informed the authorities about Byandala’s body being found in the bar’s washroom.

“Police from Mukono’s Homicide and Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) quickly responded, and Byandala’s remains were taken to the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) for further examination.

It is believed that Byandala had collapsed and died in the early hours of January 15, 2025,” a detective, who is familiar with the case, said.

After a week of the search, on January 27, 2025, Judith Katooko, the custodian of UCU hostels, filed a formal complaint regarding Byandala’s disappearance.

“Several students also voiced concerns about his absence, prompting the university to investigate. One student said Aine had not been seen for days, which was highly unusual. This prompted the student to contact the university Police post. When the students called the university Police officer in charge, they were told they did not know the case,” a detective said.

However, some students said Mukono Central Police Station was aware of Byandala’s death despite the snail-pace-like approach to the case.

Casablanca Bar in Mukono where Byandala reportedly met his death.

“One Police officer confirmed that the university Police had received a report about his disappearance and that his body had been found in the bar. It is said Byandala’s body was initially rushed to Mulago National Referral Hospital Mortuary without the university’s involvement, nor was his family informed about his death. He was buried quickly, raising more questions as to why authorities acted so swiftly, especially when he was a student at UCU and well-known within the local community,” a student said.

Arrests

As students mounted a search for Byandala, pressure piled on the authorities to probe the matter.

The relentless social media campaigns, friends said, also forced local Police to investigate the various theories that students fronted regarding Byandala’s disappearance.

Two suspects were arrested: Charles Mulangwa, the promoter at Casablanca Bar and UCU student, and Zemariam Dawit, the bar’s manager.

Byandala’s body was exhumed from the city cemetery, and a post-mortem was also conducted at Mulago Hospital.

Police told New Vision that the postmortem report revealed that Byandala had died from acute pancreatitis, a condition caused by the inflammation of the pancreas. Detectives added that: “The doctors also found evidence of trauma to his head.”

Acute pancreatitis, which is caused by gallstone blockage in the bile duct, can also be triggered by excessive alcohol consumption. However, Police said that they cannot rule out murder.

“The Police team comprising of officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are investigating the circumstances surrounding Byandala’s death, with a case file of suspected murder already opened. Scene-of-crime experts and homicide detectives have examined the site, and gathered evidence that will hopefully lead to more clarity about the events that led to his death. The officers are looking into all potential motives behind the tragedy, including the possibility of foul play,” one of the detectives assigned to probe Byandala’s murder, told New Vision.

Bar’s cameras were off

The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, said the owners of Casablanca bar allege that on that fateful day, the cameras were not working, though some workers say otherwise.

This conflicting account of the events, Onyango said, has created a contradiction.

“The question of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras has not been fully answered by the owners of Casablanca bar,” he said.

Asked why Byandala was buried at the city mortuary, Onyango said: “The deceased was buried without the knowledge of the parents because at the time of his death, he had no identification documents with him. He had no mobile phone with him. No identification was found with him. So, no one knew his relatives.”

Casablanca Bar, which is about 350m from the university’s premises, is a well-known leisure place in Mukono town.

Uncertainty

Students interviewed by Police said that aspects surrounding Byandala’s death remain unclear.

One student said the delay to report his death coupled with the bar’s failure to notify the university, has complicated Byandala’s death puzzle.

“The fact that Byandala had brought sh1m to campus for meals, but ended up at the bar drinking with friends, some of whom were known for heavy drinking, paints a troubling picture. It is believed that he drank in excess during the night, leading to a fatal overdose.

His friends, rather than taking him to rest, continued to encourage him to drink, which may have contributed to his tragic death,” one student told New Vision.

Byandala’s phone stolen

When New Vision contacted Byandala’s parents, they said events that led to the death of their son have left them traumatised. They added that they cannot comment on the issue because they are “still grieving” the loss of their “beloved son”.

A detective said more arrests were conducted this week as Police continues to trace Byandala’s last moments on earth.

“The deceased’s phone was stolen and sold. That trail is being picked. I can also confirm that one bodaboda rider was arrested in connection to the stolen phone.

The suspect we arrested said he was the middleman that initiated the selling of the deceased’s phone,” he said.

The detective added that Casablanca Bar has since been closed, and that officers from the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) have also joined the investigation team.

“An Eritrean national, Dawit Zemaria (Casablanca Bar manager) and the bar promoter- Charles Mulangwa alias Pablo are still being held at Mukono Police Station as key suspects in Byandala’s murder. We are highly convinced that these two could be hiding something, but we are optimistic the truth will come out in the course of the investigations,” the detective said.

Bar manager, promoter accused of negligence

Police treated the duo as prime suspects accusing them of negligence. “How can someone die at your bar, and you hesitate to report the matter to the authorities in time?” one of the investigators asked.

According to sources at Mukono Police Station, when they learnt about the tragic incident, hours later, they picked the deceased’s body and took it to Mulago City Mortuary.

“The day we took the deceased to the mortuary, we treated his body as unknown since no one could identify him,” Police said.

On Thursday, February, 13, Police in Mukono closed Casablanca bar, claiming it was a crime scene which was operating illegally.

Police has also confirmed that after exhuming the remains of the deceased from the public cemetery where KCCA had buried him, the family later transferred him to his home district in Luwero for burial.

At the time of his death, Byandala was in the care of his uncle, Eng. Bruno Ssebuloolo, having lost his mother at the age of four.

In an interview with New Vision, Ssebuloolo said the family is “keenly following” the investigations.

“All we want is justice to prevail,” he said. Abuse of drugs Casablanca bar officials told Police that since he was celebrating his birthday, Byandala could have gotten drank, collapsed and died inside the bar washrooms.

Last year, New Vision investigated and established that drug abuse had reached alarming levels within universities.

The investigation established that drug abuse is now a lifestyle trend for hundreds of university students, with some students routinely using drugs such as cocaine openly without fear.

Alcohol abuse, the investigations noted, is the other crisis eating up university students. Could this have been the case for Byandala as owners of Casablanca Bar allege? Detectives said all fronts are open for investigation as they unpack Byandala’s death.

“We cannot rule out anything until investigations are concluded,” a detective said.

UCU speaks out

Pamela Tumwebaze, the Director of Students’ Affairs (DOSA), said the matter of Byandala’s death is under investigation by Police, and could not make any substantive comment about it before investigations are concluded.

However, on February 3, 2025, UCU issued a public statement addressing Byandala’s tragic death.

In the statement, the university expressed concern over the bar’s delay to report the incident and failure to notify the university community.

UCU also called for greater vigilance among students, urging them to look out for one another and take care when socialising outside campus grounds.

The university authorities also cautioned students against late-night travels.

“UCU is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its students and has vowed to cooperate fully with the Police investigation to bring those responsible to justice. The university’s statement underscores the importance of peer support and encourages students to maintain a close-knit community to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future,” UCU officials noted in their statement.

Who was Byandala?

Byandala was known as a friendly and brilliant student who excelled in academics. He completed his high school education at Ntare School in Mbarara before enrolling at UCU.

Friends and classmates describe him as a social and easy-going individual who was fond of nightlife and clubbing on specific days. He was one of the regular faces in the area’s nightclubs, and his love for partying may have played a role in the fateful events that led to his death. He was a discreet drug abuser.

Shammah Kasper, a former roommate to Byandala, said he had spent a week without seeing him. He also received a surprise call from the deceased’s uncle, who was asking the whereabouts of Byandala; accordingly, all his phones were switched off, something that made them become suspicious.