Who killed Pastor Herbert Ssebunya?

Three weeks ago, Pastor Herbert Ssebunya’s body was found in a car. It had been burnt beyond recognition. Up to now, the circumstances surrounding his death are not clear

By Carol Kasujja and Richard Kayiira

Three weeks after Pastor Herbert Ssebunya was killed and the body burnt in his Mercedes Benz, there are still more questions than answers.

It is not clear what happened to the 34-year-old, who was a preacher at Kingdom Embassy Ministry in Makindye, Kampala.

On the fateful day on Wednesday August 20, Ssebunya left his home at Abayitababiri near Entebbe, with his wife Prossie Nakagimu in their Mercedes Benz ML 320, registration number UAL 075G.

In the evening, he did not return home. At 2:00am, the Police found his body burning in his car at Rubaga in Kampala, near Pope Paul Memorial Centre.

On Saturday August 23, Bukedde newspaper published an article about his death. Upon reading the article, and realising that the car registration number was that of her husband, Nakagimu reported the matter to Old Kampala Police Station.

According to the statement (SD 04/21/08/14) Nakagimu made at Police, Ssebunya dropped her off at Kibuye and then proceeded to his office in Makindye. Nakagimu proceeded by taxi to her workplace (Kawanga and Kasule Advocates and Legal Consultants) at Kizito Towers in Kampala.

In Nakagimu’s statement to the Police, she indicated that she called him at lunch time to find out whether he had eaten, and whether they would go home together that evening.

According to her statement, Ssebunya said they could not go home together because he had to go to pray for some people in Kyengera.
She added that by 11:00pm,

Ssebunya was not yet back home; so she got concerned and tried to call his number, but he was not answering. She remained in the sitting room, from where she fell asleep on the sofa. When she woke up at 3:00am, she tried to call again but his phone was off.

In the morning, Ssebunya’s friend, Joseph Ssemwanga, called Nakagimu to find out why the pastor’s phones were off. According to Ssemwanga’s statement to the Police, Nakagimu told him that the pastor was travelling to Dar-es-Salaam for a religious engagement.

On that day, Ssemwanga was supposed to meet with the couple to help them resolve a marital dispute. A few days earlier, they had quarrelled after Nakagimu’s ex-husband reportedly dropped her off at home on August 15. Ssemwanga indicated in his statement that the two men had a fight at Ssebunya’s home.


Nakagimu, on the other hand, accused Ssebunya of having many women, adding that they were rich women from whom he might have been scheming for money. In her statement, she said Ssebunya’s death could have been linked to his relationship with those women.

She also said the pastor had betrayed her when he disguised his clan by claiming he was called Mukasa whereas his real name was Ssebunya as she later found out from his passport. Nakagimu and Ssebunya are clan-mates and were, therefore, not supposed to marry or have any sexual relationship under the Kiganda culture. “He had lied to me,” she said.

Nakagimu further stated that Ssebunya had told her that his life was under threat because some Kenyans had given him money to buy for them two guns, but his suppliers were dodging him after taking the money.

Police removing the body from the wreckage

Tracing his movement

The Police are still trying to retrace Ssebunya’s movement on the fateful day. According to Ssemwanga’s statement, he and Ssebunya had pork for lunch in Muyenga on Wednesday. Thereafter, Ssebunya proceeded to Kyengera with a friend, Joshua Mufandula.

According to the Police, Ssebunya was seen that night preaching at a church in Kyengera. It is not clear what happened between that time and 2:00am when his body was driven to Rubaga and set ablaze.

On Thursday August 21, at about 2:00am, a bodaboda rider rushed to Rubaga Police Post to alert the officers that a car was burning on the nearby road. The rider vanished immediately.

“On coming out, we could see the fire. We called the fire brigade immediately. After 30 minutes, they arrived. While we were putting out the fire, we realised that there was someone inside. The body was burnt beyond recognition. The driver’s door was widely open,” said a Police officer from Rubaga Police Post.

A security guard who was near the scene that night said he saw a car parking by the roadside, then a woman got out and walked away. After a few minutes later, he saw fire.

Ssebunya’s body was found lying in the co-driver’s seat and the backrest was stretched backwards, implying he was not seated upright; a sign that he was probably dead or unconscious.

trueRelatives irate

Sebunya’s sister, Phiona Zalwango, could not hide her bitterness.
“My brother was killed somewhere by a woman, then she just brought a body here and burnt the car to kill evidence,” she said.

She said: “Herbert always drove his car, why was he in the co-driver’s seat this time? He never drinks alcohol, so he must have been sober.” His father, Willy Ssebunya, a businessman in Kiyembe, was shocked by the news. About six months before his death, he had a detailed conversation with his son and was impressed by his plans.

“We talked about a piece of land he had acquired in Bunamwaya. He wanted to start another church there. Those were the last words I had with him,” he said.

Ssebunya described his son as a gentleman and an extremely disciplined man, who was independent-minded.

“I have never suspected my son in any dubious deals. It hurts to see that he has died in this way. Let the Police carry out investigations and get to the bottom of the matter,” he said. Comments from some of the relatives paint a picture of a down-to-earth man, who loved preaching and spreading the word of God.

The DPC for Old Kampala, Joram Mwesigye, said Ssebunya’s death is more likely to be a murder, but added that investigations were still going on.

“So far, there are speculations that he could have been burnt by some people. We are in touch with the relatives and we have taken their DNA samples to establish whether Ssebunya was the one who was burnt in the car,” Mwesigye said.

The DNA results were due to be released on Friday. Nakagimu has been picked up to help the Police with the investigations. Also behind bars is Joshua Mufandula, who left Muyenga with Ssebunya on the fateful day.

Who was Pastor Ssebunya?

Born to Willy Ssebunya of Wakiso district and the late Suzan Nabukenya, the pastor was the second born in a family of six children. He went to Busika Primary School for his primary and then later joined Light College, Katikamu, for his O-level.

 It was from there that he started business and preaching. He comes from a Catholic family, but when he finished school, he became born-again.

His first marriage to Frankline Zalwango ended when they developed misunderstandings after getting two children. The children are now aged six and eight years.

He later married Becky, with whom he had two more children before they separated. He then married Nakagimu. He is said to have married another woman in Mombasa recently.
 

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