The Police’s Flying Squad has arrested a senior presidential adviser on political affairs, Yekoyada Nuwagaba, on suspicion of conning traditional healer Sylvia Namutebi a.k.a Mama Fina of Shs 2 million.
Nuwagaba, according to police, got the money from Mama Fina on the pretext that he knew the people who killed her husband, Maj Muhammad Kiggundu, in November last year.
Maj Kiggundu and his driver were shot dead in broad daylight by two gunmen riding on motorcycles at Masanafu trading centre in Lubaga division, Kampala.
In the aftermath of his death, a number of Muslim clerics were arrested and detained at Nalufenya in Jinja before they were charged with murder.
Nuwagaba has been a presidential advisor for close to 10 years and his contract was renewed in May. According to the new list of presidential advisors released by State house in May 2017, Nuwagaba is listed as advisor number 42 and earns Shs 2,370,616 monthly.
The commander of the Flying Squad, Herbert Muhangi, confirmed the arrest of Nuwagaba in an interview with The Observer. He said Nuwagaba was arrested as he headed out of a meeting at the office of the Prime Minister.
“We intercepted him at around 7pm while [he was] coming from a meeting at the office of the Prime Minister. He is in our custody and will appear in court,” he said.
Muhangi added that two months after Maj Kiggundu’s death, Nuwagaba approached his widow, Mama Fina, and asked for Shs 2m on the pretext that he knew her husband’s killers and would help police arrest them.
After receiving the money, Nuwagaba vanished and switched off his phones, prompting Mama Fina to report the matter to State House. Muhangi said he was instructed by State House to hunt down Nuwagaba.
IVORY SCANDAL
Muhangi further said that he had also been looking for Nuwagaba for jumping a police bond.
“This man was arrested in an ivory scandal and he pleaded to be released on police bond saying he was very sick and was of advanced age. He presented his lawyers and sureties, and I released him on police bond and ordered him to always report every week,” he said.
Muhangi added that after he was released, Nuwagaba made a disappearing act and switched off all his known phones. He said Nuwagaba’s ivory scandal case file was sanctioned for prosecution by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
“After the DPP sanctioned his file, we have been looking for him. Now that we have arrested him, we cannot release him. He must appear in court,” Muhangi said.
Yesterday, Muhangi said Nuwagaba was still in police custody and his case file was still with the DPP.
“He has two cases of jumping police bond and extortion and one of the files is still with the DPP and I want to take him to court when all files are sanctioned,” he said.
MAMA FINA SPEAKS
Interviewed at the weekend, Mama Fina narrated by telephone that she met Nuwagaba shortly after her husband was gunned down.
“It was two months after my husband was killed [when] Nuwagaba approached me and said he knew the killers of Maj Kiggundu and that, anytime, they will also come for me,” she said.
Mama Fina added that Nuwagaba promised her security and to help police find the killers, but for a fee.
“After telling me such shocking information, I got scared and went directly and told Mzee, the president, about what his advisor told me,” she said.
Mama Fina said she told the president that if she were bumped off, Nuwagaba should be held responsible.