Two more suspects arrested in Nebanda case

By Jeff Andrew Lule

The Police have arrested two more people, including a Guinean national, who are alleged to be part of the drug trafficking racket linked to Adam Suleiman Kalungi, the boyfriend of the late Cerinah Nebanda.

The two suspects include Betty Ssegujja and Pascal Kamano, a Guinean national. They were arrested from Muyenga Hill village and taken to Kabalagala Police Station, where they are being held.

This brings to seven the number of people arrested in connection with the alleged drug trafficking racket, linked to Kalungi, who disappeared shortly after Nebanda died at the Mukwaya General Clinic, in Nsambya. 

A report released by the  Government linked Nebanda’s death to narcotic drugs. The duo was arrested following a tip-off by the residents.

The Police is also hunting for a self-styled pastor, one Basil Okonkwo, a Nigerian national, who reportedly rented the house where Segujja and Kamano were arrested from.

“I came here to visit for a few days. I do not know this (Okonkwo) man. It is my brother who sent me here to stay for a few days and I was planning to return home,” said Kamano, who claimed he was earlier supposed to travel to South America, but had put off the trip due to problems relating to his travel documents.

After a search, the Police recovered from the house five passports; two belonging to Okonkwo and one in the name of Joe Kwasi from Ghana. The other two passports were in the names of Ruth Dricuri and Ssegujja, both Ugandans. 

The Police said they also recovered heroine, cocaine, marijuana, a roll of aluminum foil wrapper and a laptop. The Police also recovered document purportedly showing money transfers by Okonkwo of sh450m to one Abdi Rashid Bott in Pakistan.

Bott, a Uganda of Pakistan origin, was arrested last week in Kampala also in connection with drug trafficking. Bott alias Igbal Rashid, was arrested with his wife Rehema who is of Asian origin, Ibrahim Mohammed an Eritrean, Ali Omara Al-Muzahim, a Ugandan and Richard Syauswa, also Ugandan. 

The Police raided Okonkwo’s residence following reports by residents to their village chairman Yasin Omach that they had sighted eight Asian nationals in the house. The Asians had allegedly spent several days without leaving the house. 

“We became suspicious and we reported to the chairman who later reported to the Police,” a resident said.  Omach alleged that they had reports that Okonkwo imports heroine and cocaine from South America and Pakistan and later smuggles the drugs to China and other countries.

Okonkwo’s landlord, John Muwonge, said the former had been a tenant for four years. He said he was paying the rent promptly.