Hunt down Abiriga killers, Museveni tells security

Abiriga shakes President Museveni's hand last year.

President Yoweri Musevni has directed security agencies to hunt down the killers of Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga.

Abiriga was killed together with his bodyguard on Friday evening as he approached his home in Kawanda, Wakiso district.

"I have tasked security agencies to expeditiously find these killers and the nation will be updated soon. May Hon Abiriga's soul rest in peace," he says in a tweet.

Museveni says if there had been vigilance by the locals, the criminals would have been identified and Abiriga would not have been killed.

"These criminals were moving on a numberless "pikipiki" and their heads were covered with helmets even when they were standing in one place. These were signs that should have led to suspicion. Had the locals rang the police, this crime could have been prevented."

He said once the surveillance equipment is installed, which will be done in a few months, according to the President, the work of identifying criminals will be prompt. 

Museveni said with vigilance, the criminals will be defeated, saying they were defeated in Masaka in reference to the killing of the notorious robber Kiddawalime who was killed recently.

He called upon the public to report everything that is suspicious promptly.

He described Abiriga as a dedicated supporter and a patriotic Ugandan who worked for peace in West Nile. 

Abiriga was into his first term as a Member of Parliament having been elected in the 2016 general elections. In the House, he was one of the staunchest proponents of the of the move to amend the Constitution so as to have the 75-year upper age limit for the president removed.

Before that, Abiriga served in the army of then-Ugandan President Idi Amin Dada before a stint in the National Resistance Army and finally in the UPDF where he held the rank of Colonel.

Before joining elective politics, Abiriga served as RDC for Arua for 12 years following his appointment by President Yoweri Museveni in 2001.

He was then moved to Yumbe in a similar role before he resigned to run for the Arua Municipality seat.