Nagirinya murder: 8 Police officers charged

KAMPALA - The Police disciplinary standby Court on Wednesday secretly charged eight police officers including three Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) for professional misconduct following the August 28, 2019 kidnap and murder of Maria Nagirinya Gateni and her driver Ronald Kitayimbwa.

Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga said officers were charged following an internal misconduct investigation conducted by the Professional Standards Unit which also recommended that the officers undergo a disciplinary process. If found guilty, the officers face dismissal with disgrace from the Uganda Police Force.

The decision to charge the officers followed President Yoweri  Museveni directive last month in which he ordered their arrest after Nagirinya's father Francis Lubowa and her uncle Dr. Ben Mukwaya blamed police for neglecting them when they reported the kidnap case at Nateete Police station.

The seven who included Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mohammed Byansi, ASP Andrew Nizeyimana, ASP Okello Allan, Detective Assistant Inspector of Police Sunday Baguma, Corporal Samuel Owona, Police Constable Joshua Basaliza (PC) and PC Deo Kitute, were jointly charged with neglect of duty contrary to section 44(1), Code 19(a), (b), (c) of the Police Act, Cap 303.

The Police stated that, "the officers neglected to promptly and diligently attend to their duty, on August 28, 2019, and August 29, 2019, in Kampala Metropolitan Police South, when they failed to immediately respond to a report of a kidnap, which affected the eventual response towards the victims, Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa.

An additional officer, Detective Corporal Reuben Kibikwamu, pleaded not guilty to the charge of Discreditable or Irregular Conduct Contrary to section 44(1), Code 12 of the Police Act, Cap 303.  It is alleged, he acted in a manner likely to bring discredit to the reputation of the Uganda Police Force and cause injury to public service, on August 28, 2019, and August 29, 2019, at Nateete Police Station. He failed to professionally attend to the relatives of Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa, who had sought his assistance.

Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa were kidnapped on August 28, 2019, at around 11: 40 pm outside her home in Lungujja, Rubaga Division as she waited for her young sister to open for her the gate.

Her young sister immediately notified her father who together with some relatives rushed to the scene and later to Katwe, Nateete, and Old Kampala police stations.

In an interview, the relatives revealed that the officers on duty declined to immediately respond to their case and only responded at around 4 am when they notified them that her Spacio vehicle registration number UBA 570V had been sighted at Kinawataka heading to Bweyogerere.

Her car was later found abandoned at Nateete and their bodies recovered two days later dumped in Mukono.

The chieftaincy of military intelligence and police have so far arrested six prime suspects who have been charged in courts and remanded.

Enanga stated that the case of the eight police officers being charged, "demonstrates how the force was well prepared to robustly address all issues of professional misconduct, in order to uphold the highest standards of policing."

He reminded all officers of their duty to uphold the law and display the highest level of professionalism in the course of their duties. 

"Therefore, any officer who compromises confidence in the force will always be dealt with appropriately," the police spokesperson warned.