Police hunt for killers of Kireka cab driver

By Jeff Andrew Lule & Simon Masaba

KAMPALA - The hunt by local police for the killers of a cab driver, whose body was found dumped in Mukono, is under way.

Isaac Kalanzi, 32, was reportedly hired by unknown people to drive them to Entebbe International Airport, but he later went missing.

His body was later found floating in a small river in Kasanyi in Mukono district. He was a special-hire driver stationed at Kireka stage, a few miles out of the city centre.

It is hardly three weeks since another cab driver was discovered dead in a similar way.

Earlier this month, Isaac Talugende Baheha, a cab driver who operated at the Grand Imperial Hotel taxi stage in the city centre, was found lifeless – gagged and bound by cello tape – a week after mysteriously disappearing.

He had also reportedly been hired to chauffeur a customer to the airport.

‘God in control’

In the latest episode, police findings indicate that the would-be killers approached Kalanzi at his stage on Wednesday evening and requested him to take them to the airport later at about 4am local time (Thursday morning).

They reportedly offered him sh160,000 for the job, a deal he is understood to have accepted.

John Kyambadde, the chairman of the Kireka stage, said he last saw him on Wednesday evening.

"He came and told me about the job he had got. I just told him to be careful because the time [4am] was too risky to move with strangers.

 “He told me that God, who had given him the job, was in control of his life.”

The special-hire stage chairman said he and his colleagues got worried when they did not see Kalanzi’s car at the stage the following day.

"We called his phone but was it was off,” he said.

“We went to Mulago thinking he had gotten involved in an accident but all in vain. We were shocked on Friday when they told us that his body was found in Mukono.”

The widow, Allen Nakabuye, said her husband rarely worked at night. "He used to drive only those he knew. I believe he knew those who killed him.”

Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson, Patrick Onyago, said Kalanzi's car was found parked in a home in Kajjansi along Entebbe road.

According to police investigations, the assailants are said to have swapped the car's original registration number plate (UAW 342Y) with a fake one (UAK 332T) after killing Kalanzi.

Onyango said they also recovered two identity cards in the names of Julius Okong and Hussein Amanyire purportedly working as tank cleaners with Progressive Technical Services, as well as a national ID also belonging to Amanyire.

They also recovered four car number plates.

"We want to find out whether the company is genuine and see whether these workers are known to them," he said.

No suspects have been arrested so far.

"Occupants of the house fled when they heard police sirens but the hunt for them is on," said the police spokesman.

 

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