The High Court’s recent decision to sentence two people to death and seven others to life imprisonment brought the long-running Susan Magara kidnapping and murder case to a close, eight years after the 23-year-old businesswoman was abducted.
However, before the convictions and sentences, the investigations team had to unravel a complex trail of ransom calls, mobile phones, DNA evidence, financial transactions and movements of the suspects.
One of their biggest breakthroughs came from a telephone number registered in the name of the mother of Yusuf Lubega, one of the now convicted Killers. Investigators would use the woman to lure her son to Usafi Mosque in Kampala, where he was arrested, an arrest which subsequently opened the way for security agencies to trace other members of the killer gang.
Magara, an accountant at Bwendero Dairy Farm, was kidnapped on the evening of February 7, 2018, as she travelled home. According to evidence presented during the trial, the innocent young lady was speaking to her friend Yusuf Muhindo on the telephone when he heard her say, “Don’t beat me.”
He then heard a man ask whether she wanted to scream, followed by another ordering that she be beaten, before the call was disconnected.
Muhindo alerted the police, while relatives were also informed and a search began. Magara’s abandoned vehicle was later found in Lungujja, with the engine still running, with her two mobile phones inside, providing security with some of the earliest clues about what had happened.
The case took an even darker turn when the kidnappers began contacting her family. They initially demanded USD1 million, equivalent to about UGX 3.5 billion at the time, for her release.
After negotiations with Magara’s father, the ransom was reduced to about UGX 700 million.
The kidnappers then allowed Magara to speak to her parents as proof that she was still alive, further subjecting the family to a terrifying campaign of threats.
At one point, they sent a package containing a video of Magara pleading with her father to pay the ransom and avoid involving the police, and the package also contained two fingers which had been cut from Magara.
The family eventually paid the agreed ransom at Kanaaba-Ndejje, which was received by the heartless killers, but Magara was not released.
On February 27, her body was recovered after it had been dumped in the Kigo area of Wakiso, leading to a post-mortem examination which established that she had died from strangulation. The severed fingers were also subjected to forensic examination, with DNA tests confirming that they belonged to theblate.
With the hostage dead and UGX 700 million already paid, investigators shifted their focus to identifying the people behind the operation, and this is where the telephone trail became critical.
Frank Nyakairu, a Defence Intelligence and Security operative, analyzed the telephone numbers that had been used by the kidnappers, and reportedly developed a communication matrix showing how the numbers were communicating with one another before, during and after Magara’s abduction.
The analysis also placed some of the suspects around locations associated with ransom collection attempts, including Masajja, Matugga and Ndejje.
Investigators then used subscriber information to establish who was behind some of the numbers.
One of the numbers was registered in the name of Lubega’s mother, a discovery which eventually led security to Lubega, later leading to an operation which was conducted by security operatives, leading to his arrest.
On April 27, 2018, they reportedly contacted his mother and used a deception to establish her son’s whereabouts. She was told to inform Lubega that she had been arrested and that UGX 50,000 was needed to secure her release, something to which Lubega reportedly responded by directing her to meet him at Usafi Mosque, not knowing that security officers were following the communication.
When they arrived at the mosque, they reportedly found Lubega standing at the entrance, but as officers moved to arrest him, he ran inside, turning the operation violent.
According to the evidence, another man emerged from the mosque armed with a machete (panga) and attacked one of the security officers, cutting off his hand. However, the violence did not save Lubega as he was finally arrested.
His arrest became one of the most important breakthroughs in the investigation as Lubega reportedly provided information that helped investigators identify other members of the suspected killer gang.
Security agencies subsequently arrested several suspects, including Hajara Nakandi, Musa Abbas Buvumbo, Mahad Kisalita, Abubaker Kyewolwa, Hassan Kato Miiro and Ismail Bukenya, all Muslims.
Security operatives also pursued Yakub Byensi, who was identified during the investigation as a key figure in the alleged operation, although he later disappeared and remained at large.
Detectives also followed the money, examined property and other transactions allegedly connected to the ransom. Lubega reportedly led detectives to pieces of land in Buikwe and Luwero which he said had been purchased using proceeds from the ransom.
Some suspects also reportedly gave accounts that helped investigators reconstruct how Magara was held and eventually killed, with the prosecution, during court proceedings, alleging that the gang decided to kill Magara because releasing her after keeping her captive for a prolonged period could expose their identities and involvement in the crime.
The State eventually built its case around a combination of direct and circumstantial evidence.
It called dozens of witnesses and presented telephone records, forensic evidence, DNA results, ransom communications, financial transactions and evidence from the crime scenes.
The defence, however, challenged the prosecution’s case and the accused persons denied the charges. However, the court ultimately found the nine accused persons guilty, and Justice Alex Mackay Ajiji sentenced Hajara Nakandi and Musa Abbas Buvumbo to death for their roles in Magara’s murder, while Yusuf Lubega, Hussein Wasswa, Abubaker Kyewolwa, Mahad Kisalita, Hassan Kato Miiro and Ismail Bukenya were sentenced to life imprisonment.
