Wanted businessman fled to Johannesburg, say informers
Nov 25, 2008
THE hunt for a Kampala businessman accused of masterminding child sacrifice intensified yesterday but sources said he could have fled the country.
By Herbert Ssempogo and Ali Mambule
THE hunt for a Kampala businessman accused of masterminding child sacrifice intensified yesterday but sources said he could have fled the country.
In a mobile telephone message, a South Africa based informant told the Police in Masaka district where the murder occurred, that Godfrey Kato Kajubi could be in Johannesburg.
But a message from another source indicated that the tycoon, who owns a string of houses in Johannesburg, could be hiding in Denmark where he has a house and a wife.
However, the southern region Police spokesperson, Noah Ssenyonga, to whom the SMS was sent, would not give details so as not to “jeopardise investigationsâ€. “I have forwarded the messages to the Police spokesperson (Judith Nabakooba),†he said by phone yesterday.
Following the messages, Nabakooba said the search would go beyond Uganda’s boundaries.
“Our Interpol team here is going to liaise with those in other countries to locate him if he sought refuge there,†she said.
Asked whether they were considering placing a bounty on Kajubi’s head, Nabakooba said Kajubi would be arrested soon.
The Police in Masaka were yesterday overwhelmed by the number of phone calls from the public after The New Vision published Kajubi’s photograph and four hotlines to call.
The numbers are 0714667872, 0714667873, 0714667878, 0714667877 and 0772696886. However, none of the callers had information on the whereabouts of Kajubi, southern regional CID chief Willy Panuha said.
“The majority of them were inquiring whether we had arrested Kajubi,†Panuha said.
Southern regional Police commander Andrew Sorowen said a male caller wanted to know the location of Kajubi’s London home.
Sorowen suspected the callers to be working for Kajubi to throw the Police off-track.
Another caller, Sorowen disclosed, wanted to exploit the situation to get free air time.
“Someone asked me to send him credit so that he could offer information,†he said. “When I told him that I would call back, he turned off the phone,†Panuha narrated.
Kajubi, now on the run, is wanted in connection with the grisly slaying of 12-year-old Joseph Kasirye about a month ago.
Kajubi hired Umaru Kateregga alias Bosco, 27, and his Tanzanian wife, Mariam Nabukeera, to execute the chilling assignment at Kayugi village, Katwadde parish, Mutundwe sub-county in Masaka, the Police said.
The couple was promised sh12m but Kajubi paid sh350,000, promising to give them the rest after delivering three other heads.
Masaka court last week remanded the couple to prison after they were charged with the murder. The prosecutor said the duo and others still at large, kidnapped Kasirye, killed him and cut off his head and genitals, which they sold to Kajubi.
The body parts were buried in a mansion that Kajubi is constructing in Kampala city. Kajubi reportedly owns homes in Masaka, Jinja and the Kampala suburbs of Kalerwe, Makindye, Salaama and Wandegeya.
Others include property in London and a hostel in Makerere Kikoni, Kampala. Cases of child sacrifice are on the rise. Sunday Vision published a harrowing story of a seven-year-old girl, who was buried alive at a Kampala construction site.
The building belonged to a rich man, who owns many buildings in the city centre and suburbs.
Last year’s Police crime report said 230 children were victims of crime.
Of these, 108 were abducted, 54 disappeared and about 56 were stolen. Four children were murdered, 44 were rescued while the fate of 130 children is unknown.
THE hunt for a Kampala businessman accused of masterminding child sacrifice intensified yesterday but sources said he could have fled the country.
In a mobile telephone message, a South Africa based informant told the Police in Masaka district where the murder occurred, that Godfrey Kato Kajubi could be in Johannesburg.
But a message from another source indicated that the tycoon, who owns a string of houses in Johannesburg, could be hiding in Denmark where he has a house and a wife.
However, the southern region Police spokesperson, Noah Ssenyonga, to whom the SMS was sent, would not give details so as not to “jeopardise investigationsâ€. “I have forwarded the messages to the Police spokesperson (Judith Nabakooba),†he said by phone yesterday.
Following the messages, Nabakooba said the search would go beyond Uganda’s boundaries.
“Our Interpol team here is going to liaise with those in other countries to locate him if he sought refuge there,†she said.
Asked whether they were considering placing a bounty on Kajubi’s head, Nabakooba said Kajubi would be arrested soon.
The Police in Masaka were yesterday overwhelmed by the number of phone calls from the public after The New Vision published Kajubi’s photograph and four hotlines to call.
The numbers are 0714667872, 0714667873, 0714667878, 0714667877 and 0772696886. However, none of the callers had information on the whereabouts of Kajubi, southern regional CID chief Willy Panuha said.
“The majority of them were inquiring whether we had arrested Kajubi,†Panuha said.
Southern regional Police commander Andrew Sorowen said a male caller wanted to know the location of Kajubi’s London home.
Sorowen suspected the callers to be working for Kajubi to throw the Police off-track.
Another caller, Sorowen disclosed, wanted to exploit the situation to get free air time.
“Someone asked me to send him credit so that he could offer information,†he said. “When I told him that I would call back, he turned off the phone,†Panuha narrated.
Kajubi, now on the run, is wanted in connection with the grisly slaying of 12-year-old Joseph Kasirye about a month ago.
Kajubi hired Umaru Kateregga alias Bosco, 27, and his Tanzanian wife, Mariam Nabukeera, to execute the chilling assignment at Kayugi village, Katwadde parish, Mutundwe sub-county in Masaka, the Police said.
The couple was promised sh12m but Kajubi paid sh350,000, promising to give them the rest after delivering three other heads.
Masaka court last week remanded the couple to prison after they were charged with the murder. The prosecutor said the duo and others still at large, kidnapped Kasirye, killed him and cut off his head and genitals, which they sold to Kajubi.
The body parts were buried in a mansion that Kajubi is constructing in Kampala city. Kajubi reportedly owns homes in Masaka, Jinja and the Kampala suburbs of Kalerwe, Makindye, Salaama and Wandegeya.
Others include property in London and a hostel in Makerere Kikoni, Kampala. Cases of child sacrifice are on the rise. Sunday Vision published a harrowing story of a seven-year-old girl, who was buried alive at a Kampala construction site.
The building belonged to a rich man, who owns many buildings in the city centre and suburbs.
Last year’s Police crime report said 230 children were victims of crime.
Of these, 108 were abducted, 54 disappeared and about 56 were stolen. Four children were murdered, 44 were rescued while the fate of 130 children is unknown.