Driver held over New Vision scribe's death
Jul 03, 2013
Kampala police are holding a city commuter taxi driver in connection with the brutal murder of a New Vision journalist.
By Eddie Ssejjoba & Mayimunah Namulemo
Kampala police are holding a city commuter taxi driver in connection with the brutal murder of a New Vision journalist, Thomas Pere mid-last month.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesman, Ibin Ssenkumbi said the driver, whose names are withheld due to security reasons, was arrested on June 17 at Nateete, a Kampala suburb, a day after Pere was killed.
His body was found dumped in a dusty trench in Masajja, along Busaabala road.
The police spokesman said a taxi, which the driver was driving, was impounded with blood stains which, according to him, would provide vital leads to their investigations.
He said police obtained blood samples from the vehicle and submitted them to the government laboratory for analysis to match it with that of the deceased reporter.
Upon his arrest, the suspect denied that the blood stains belonged to a human being but the police proved otherwise.
The vehicle is still grounded at Katwe police station.
The officer-in-charge (OC) of CIID at Katwe, Benon Ayebare said the police were also in custody of some other exhibits including an identity card and head cap recovered from the scene where the body was dumped.
Other suspects are still on the run, New Vision has learnt.
At the time of his death, Pere had worked at New Vision for a decade. His brutal end last month again sprayed the spotlight on the level of safety of people using public means of transport.
There have been rising concerns and reports of assailants masquerading as taxi drivers, especially in the deep of the night, who end up robbing and at worst killing unsuspecting travelers.
In connection with these are ironbar hitmen who have posed a massive security problem in various parts of the country.
According to OC Ayebare, victims of murders as Pere’s are usually dumped along the railway line, road sides, around trading centers and in swampy areas.
RELATED STORIES