As the police heightens investigations into the disappearance and subsequent murder of Joseph Kaahwa who was commonly known as Kajabago, we bring an account of his life from August 31, 2022, until his body reached the morgue.
A day before Thursday, September 1, 2022, when he was found strangled to death, the late Kajabago had been at the centre of a controversial Shs13m-land transaction that took place at A. Marvin & Co. Advocates – a law firm owned by Marvin Asiimwe Bunjo opposite Kolping Hotel in Hoima city.
This article is mainly based on the narration by Patrick Wandera, Kajabago’s closest friend and business partner. He is also head teacher at St Mark (Maliko) High School in Bujumbura, Hoima city, which became a spot of search for the deceased. They were co-directors.
“I was also invited urgently by Kajabago to witness the land transaction in which he represented Dan Tumwesige’s interests at around 6pm. Kajabago used to identify Dan to me as his colleague in politics since they were both strong members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party,” says Wandera.
“The Shs13m-land transaction was completed and the money was handed to Kajabago after signing the sale agreement in front of the lawyer. Kajabago remained with around Shs12m because almost a million was spent at the venue to pay brokers, the lawyer and clearing a loan amounting to Shs595,000 secured from Bakayuki a year ago according to what Kajabago told me,” Wandera adds.
Dan’s son only identified as Eriabu witnessed the transaction and had played a big role in getting the buyer in order to settle his university education needs.
It is believed that the sale agreement came to the money lender from Kajabago who had in a mutual understanding got Dan’s land rights when both [Kajabago and Dan] needed cash to manoeuvre the COVID-19 times. Kajabago had actually not bought land from Dan though he had an agreement in his name.
“From Bunjo’s some minutes to 7pm after the transaction, I, Kajabago and Dan’s son Eriabu moved on a motorcycle to St Mark (St Maliko). At around 7pm, Kajabago called Dan to pick his money,” narrates Wandera.
Conflict begins
Upon Dan’s arrival, Wandera hosted the trio in his office to discuss money security and distribution.
The matter rested between Dan and his son Eriabu who in this case had the final decision. They disagreed over who would go with the money.
“Eriabu wanted to go with the money claiming that they had initially agreed with Dan [his father] on the purpose of the proceeds from the land sale. He was opposed to his father’s desire to slot in other needs apart from clearing university dues since he was in third year as well as supporting his sister who is a senior six leaver at home.
“Finally, Dan said as the land owner and head of the family, ‘I have to decide how part of the money will be used alongside standing needs’. There he declared that Kajabago would spend the night with all the money until morning when he was to deposit some in the bank to avoid violence in the family,” narrates Wandera.
He further quotes Dan as stressing that he had detected danger at home if he risked going with the cash.
As the money was still on the table in a black polythene bag (kavera), Eriabu had displayed to Wandera and Kajabago a budget saved in his mobile phone covering all the Shs12m.
Eriabu, is, however, said to have welcomed the decision to leave the money with Kajabago than being taken by his father [Dan], hopefully that a solution would be found the following day. The duo left the money and moved out of the school premises leaving Wandera and Kajabago to finalise their business day.
Wandera, Kajabago away from land money issue
“As usual before we had to separate, we had duties that we assigned to each other and meet the following day for implementation or reporting. Kajabago was to move to Kihandagana cell in Bucunga ward, East Division in Hoima city where we have a school farm land. We were preparing to plant groundnuts on Saturday the same week,” he narrates.
Kajabago’s death day (Thursday, September 1, 2022)
“In fact, I was expecting him back at around lunch hour – which did not happen! In the morning at around 11 o’clock, Dan had come to school to meet Kajabago of course over money. But I told him how he had gone to Bucunga. At around lunch time, Dan returned informing me that Kajabago had just in a phone call promised to meet him at school in an hour’s time,” he says.
“He told that me he was coming from Bucunga, going home, bathe and come. But he said that he will first reach Hoima Public Primary School.” Wandera quotes Dan.
He adds that Dan started watching sports on the television set in the staff room as he waited for Kajabago and eventually had lunch with the staff of St Mark.
“At around 2pm, Dan called him [Kajabago] again. He told me that ‘do you know what? I am calling him but his phone is off.’ I told him his [Kajabago’s] phone battery might have run down. I was confident,” says Wandera.
“Time came to 3pm, then to 4pm and I said he might be at [Hoima] Public School you know at times we Banyoro give an hour when it is actually not,” Wandera said making fun.
“Do you know Kajabago? Before reaching here he stops almost at every stage even with bodabodas chatting,” Wandera says he continued.
At 4pm, Wandera also called Kajabago’s phone but to find it still off, a rare experience in their life time.
Dan decided to go to Hoima Public School to find out. Shortly after Dan’s exit, his son Eriabu arrived at St Maliko seeking audience with Wandera to apologise if at all he had been displeased with the brawl over money in his office the previous evening.
He [Dan] returned and said he had been informed that Kajabgao had not reached Hoima Public Primary School where sources say he was to participate in a Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting.
Fear rises
Dan became skeptical that his friend Kajabago would have betrayed him and made off with his money.
“I said no, I have stayed with him for long – 20 years! He is never greedy for money,” Wandera gives hope.
Wandera and Dan kept together until 6:30pm when the latter resolved to rush to Kajabago’s home in Lusaka Middle, Hoima city to get to know his whereabouts from the wife. Dan returns to school at around 8:30pm and tells Wandera of Kajabago’s absence from home.
“I tried waiting for him from home until they moved to serve supper. I was inconveniencing them and I had to leave. The wife told me that the man left at lunch time after coming from Bucunga,” Wandera quotes Dan.
The duo separated from school at around 9pm, with hope that Kajabago would be seen anytime.
However, Dan asked for the phone number of Kajabago’s wife, Beatrice Kyalisiima, from Wandera in order to follow up at around 11pm or pass by his home.
“Suspicious Dan called me at around 11pm saying that indeed he had reached there and Kajabago had not returned home. He also said he feared going to his [Dan’s] home without any explanation about the land money,” narrates Wandera.
The hunt for Kajabago (Friday, September 2, 2022)
At around 6am, Dan called Wandera saying he had arrived at Kajabago’s home at around 3am and stayed outside recceing whether Kajabago would leave home in the wee hours.
“I stayed outside until almost 7am to see them open and see the man running or going somewhere; but I did not seen him. I called the wife and pretended to have left my keys inside the house last evening requesting to check there. When she opened, I asked her if the man came back after my departure. That was a tactic to see how the woman would behave.” Wandera quotes Dan.
They agreed to meet at school to digest on the way forward which happened at around 7am. “He narrated the whole story and that he never went home,” he says.
Kyalisiima [Kajabago’s wife] also told Kazi-njema News in a phone call that shortly after Dan’s departure, his son Eriabu, also reached home demanding for Kajabago which irritated her until they had a quarrel.
It was a day for moving up and down and discussing Kajabago’s fate. Dan asks Wandera to Kajabago’s wife since they were more acquainted to hear what she says.
“That very Friday, I had started going to every corner, every family where I could think Kajabago could be but without getting information that could lead to his location. At around 11am, I met Kajabago’s wife at their home and we talked as usual. The wife was confident that her husband would come back and a night off was no surprise. She also narrated to me how suspicious Dan had reached there in the evening and early morning,” says Wandera.
“She narrated to me that ‘When Ateenyi (Kajabago) came on Wednesday evening he said he had come with someone’s money and put it in a coat. I was worried and asked why he came with that huge amount of money. But you like helping so much.’” Kyaligonza tells Wandera.
When Wandera inquired about Kajabago’s return from Bucunga, the wife said she was away by lunch time but children were present when he came, bathed and moved out. The money was no longer in the coat he had cited.
Before Wandera left, he told Kajabago’s wife that the time frame without Kajabago created fear that he could be missing and advised the wife to report to the LC1 chairperson. He [Wandera] also pledged to report to police if it reached evening without Kajabag’s appearance.
Before Wandera went to meet Kajabago’s wife, Dan’s son, Eriabu, was spotted by the bursar seated covertly in the classroom adjacent to the staffroom.
“We were exchanging about our fears for Kajabago’s life without knowledge of Eriabu’s secret presence. It’s like he came before any of us that day but was later sighted by the bursar. I suspect he was also recceing whether Kajabago was hiding in the school premises with their money,” says Wandera.
“We discovered that at around 10am, when I was talking with Dan outside there. The son left the room without greeting anybody among the school staff. When he was leaving, he first called the father who was talking. They stood aside and discussed for few minutes and the man [Dan] came back.”
“Later in the evening, I was sitting outside here with Dan at around 5 o’clock when Dan’s wife and their son, Eriabu, called at the gate. Dan approached them and talked for some minutes. He came back and told me that ‘these people are looking for me hoping that I have disappeared with the money. Have you seen? I have problems with my family when they reach the extent of searching for me from school yet I am also searching for the person with the money,’” Wandera narrates.
The report to police
“Later, I was directed to Room 3 at Hoima Central Police Station where I found two ladies. They took joke of me saying Kajabago could be chilling somewhere much as I tried to insist that his phone was off and he had huge amounts of money belonging to someone else.”
They interrogated me about my relationship with him and why it was not his closet relative like the wife to report. They told me to return in the morning the following day, if the night passed without Kajabago’s whereabouts,’ narrates Wandera.
Kajabago in the mortuary
“I left the police and returned to school because I normally leave at 8pm. It was around 7pm when the Director of St Peter’s, High school, Nyendwoha Amaato, informed me in a phone communication that he had received information from St Cyprian [Catholic Church] choir members that Kajabago had been killed.” Wandera recounts.
The information got into the public domain from a policeman who was allegedly printing a photograph of the anonymous person found dead whose identity was established on Wright Road in Hoima city.
The Albertine Regional Police Spokesperson, ASP Julius Allan Hakiza, told Kazi-njemaNews that the police had recovered the body at around 2pm on Thursday, September 1, 2022, dumped at Kyamukunjuuki village in Bujaawe central forest reserve, Kitoba sub-county in Hoima district.
A preliminary police investigation report indicates that Kajabago was strangled to death and his body dumped by yet to be identified people.
ASP Hakiza said that by Friday, September 9, 2022, police were serious into investigations after obtaining helpful information about the murder.
A radio phone call
Amon Ainembabazi, a presenter on Radio Hoima, has said one of the listeners called the radio stating that an unidentified man smartly dressed had been dumped dead along Hoima-Kaiso-Tonya Road.
“It is in my skit called ‘Agafiire oku’ that a listener told me that an Ipsum car had made a U-turn back to Hoima after dumping a body of a man at Kyamukunjuuki. I also shared the shared the information on air without knowing it was Kajabago killed,” says Ainebyona. His skit runs between 12:50pm to 1pm which is the time when the call came in.
Who was Kajabago?
Kajabago was known for his political activism as a strong member of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). He had at most times been critical of President Museveni’s leadership describing it as totalitarian and corrupt.
Kajabago used to condemn alleged mismanagement of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom. He led a low profile life but known for holding his stand without fear.
Kajabago participated in the fight for Bunyoro interests during the Rulemeera political saga that endangered the relationship between Banyoro and Bakiga migrants in Greater Kibaale district in the early 2000s.
Idi Magezi, the Hoima city council Secretary for Production and Natural Resources who happens to be Kajabago’s schoolmate at Bwikya Muslim Secondary School in Hoima city, describes him as a people loving man who was always ready to die for vulnerable people.
The Hoima City Woman Member of Parliament, Asinansi Nyakato, describes Kajabago as an incorruptible FDC pillar who was satisfied with the little he had but maintained his position.
She calls upon the police to expedite investigations and bring the suspects to book.
