Tracking down Adam Kalungi

By Simon Masaba

The long arm of the law finally caught up with Adam Suleiman Kalungi in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

Kalungi, also known as Luli, the fugitive lover of former Butaleja District Woman MP Cerinah Nebanda, was arrested on Thursday night, bringing to an end a three-week hunt for him.

His capture, sources said, is crucial as it is expected to provide vital details surrounding the death of the MP, now shrouded in controversy.

Kalungi was tracked and smoked out of hideout by a four-man team from the Police’s Violent Crime Intelligence and Operations Unit (VCIOU), working in close collaboration with the Kenyan police.

He was later handed over to Ugandan authorities Friday morning.

According to Police spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba, Kalungi was being held in Uganda and, by press time, was preparing to go with the Police to revisit the crime scene in Kansanga, a city suburb.

The tracking

The team is said to have tracked down Kalungi through calls made on his cellular phone shortly before vanishing from Mukwaya General Clinic on the ill-fated night.

That was shortly after dropping his ailing lover at the clinic on December 14, last year.

The lawmaker died on December 14 at the facility, shortly after Kalungi and some friends dropped her in critical condition. Prior to that, the Police say she had been with Kalungi at his Buziga residence.

“We intercepted communication and alerted the Kenyan Police, VCIOU, together with Interpol, who kept monitoring and tracking down Kalungi,” a Police source, who declined to be named, said.

The source added that twice, the Inspector General of Police, Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura flew to Kenya, closely monitoring the progress in tracking Kalungi.

At the time of his arrest, Kayihura was reportedly in Kenya with a six-man team. He personally finalised Kalungi’s deportation process.

The team was headed by the deputy Criminal Intelligence and Investigations boss, Geoffrey Musana, who had camped at the Malaba border, a source said.

Police statement

According to the Police press statement issued on Friday morning, Kayihura stated that the Kenya government yesterday morning deported Adam Suleiman Kalungi back to Uganda.

“At this moment, Kalungi is in Ugandan Police custody to help us with the ongoing investigations into the death of Nebanda,” Kayihura noted in a statement.

Kayihura added that although evidence has been gathered from diverse sources, Kalungi still has to explain circumstances and cause of Nebanda’s death.

Kalungi is significant indeed, as he is the one single person who knows and must explain the events and circumstances leading to the death of Nebanda, Kayihura said.

“Especially that it was from his apartment in Buziga that Kalungi and his associate took the deceased to Nsambya General Clinic, where her death was pronounced.”

Kayihura added: “Uganda pays tribute to the Kenya government and, in particular the Kenya police, for their efforts to trace and deport the fugitive.”

The controversy

The death of the MP led to a controversy, culminating into the acrimonious standoff between the Parliament and the executive, each side accusing the other of dishonesty.

A doctor and two MPs, Chris Baryomunsi (Kinkizi West) and Mohammed Nsereko (Kampala Central) were arrested and are now out on police bond.

Kalungi’s fears

Another trusted Police source within the interrogation team says Kalungi is co-operating well with Police. “From his initial statement, he has corroborated the story, which Khan gave us earlier,” the police source said.

Khan Abu is one of the suspects arrested earlier with the illegal possession of narcotic drugs and charged in Makindye Court. He had stated that he was part of a drug trafficking racket linked to Kalungi.

“Khan had become his close friend. Kalungi was his retail agent and Khan was in the process of elevating him to a higher level in the drug trafficking business,” the source said.

“That is why he fled after his girlfriend died because he knew he would be eliminated to kill the evidence and protect the syndicate.”

The source added that Kalungi still fears for his life because he says the drug mafia have penetrated high political circles, security and business positions and can still kill him.