Rubaga bodaboda killer shown CCTV of crime multiple times

Fresh details indicate that the suspect arrested over the Rubaga bodaboda murder first saw the gruesome video of the crime from a food vendor in Ndeeba, who likened him to the assailants in the footage circulated by the Police.

Preliminary Police findings indicate that the suspect, John Bosco Mugisha alias Mukiga, denied being the one in the video, hurriedly ate the food he'd bought and left the stall.

In a separate incident in Nalukolongo, Mugisha was again shown the CCTV footage by people from the neighbourhood as he walked casually while on his daily routine. 

However, having been known to be a humble person, no one batted an eyelid after he denied being the one in the video.

Sensing that the walls were closing in, the suspect isolated himself from the public.

Without divulging further details the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, said Mugisha was shown the footage by several people but he denied being the person in the video.

On Wednesday, Onyango announced that the Police had arrested Mugisha, one of the two men caught in the viral CCTV footage killing a bodaboda cyclist in Mengo, Rubaga division in June.

According to Onyango, Mugisha had already confessed that he was one of the two men seen in the surveillance video killing a cyclist identified as Derrick Mulindwa.

Mugisha's accomplice only identified as Young Mulo, was later killed by a mob on July 3 on the suspicion that he stole a motorcycle, Onyango revealed, quoting the suspect's statement.

"Mugisha admits that they robbed the motorcycle from Mityana on July 2, 2019, and they were traced to Makindye in Kampala, where the mob killed his colleague. Mugisha alleges that he escaped that day and went to Kabale," Onyango said in a statement.

According to Onyango, Mugisha has been arrested several times and has been to Luzira Prison many times on robbery charges.

Mugisha is currently detained at Katwe Police Station, pending transfer to Old Kampala Police Station.

Police and sister security agencies embarked on a manhunt for the two killers shortly after the video of Mulindwa's murder went viral.

The chilling video shows a cyclist carrying two men on a motorcycle riding into a secluded area, unaware of what awaits him. As soon as he stops, one of the two passengers alights but his accomplice places the cyclist in a chokehold and tackles him to the ground.

One of the men then picks up the revving motorcycle and dashes to a spot, where he picks up a hammer and uses it to smash the cyclist's head multiple times. The killers then fled with his motorcycle.

Mulindwa's body was recognised by a lady who regularly did his laundry after she watched the clip and identified his jacket.

The two men on the video clip appear to be of light complexion and lean, unlike the description provided by Police of Mugisha, the prime suspect. 

The suspect was said to be linked to an earlier gruesome murder of a bodaboda cyclist, also caught on surveillance video in April.

Following the incident, security forces combed multiple suburbs in an operation that linked the crime to a notorious gang that trades in stolen motorcycles and spare parts.

At least 13 suspects were arrested by the Police in the Kampala Metropolitan area and 45 motorcycles, assorted motorcycle spare parts and 55 motorcycle number plates recovered.

The stolen motorcycles and spare parts were recovered in the densely-populated suburbs of Katwe and Nalukongo.