STEPHEN OWORI WAS MURDERED IN COLD BLOOD

8th July started off as any other normal day for Nosiata Andera’s close knit family. In Dwaliro zone, Mayuge town, where the family resides, there was an eerie peace and quiet as 43 year old Nosiata and her two daughters went about their early morning tidy up routine.
For some strange reason everyone in the home seemed downcast. It is just one of those days, Nosiata rationalized. There was not the slightest inkling in her mind that something tragic was about to befall her family. As night fell, the family gathered in the living room for Dinner.
Nosiata’s two sons, 20 year old student Yasin Daka and 32 year old security guard Stephen Owori had just joined in after returning home. After Dinner, Owori bade his sibling’s farewell. He straight away left for his night guarding duties at a nearby Maize mill.
Half an hour later around 9 pm, Nosiata was called out by concerned neighbors. The neighbors were troubled by the presence of an unknown man in the bathroom.  When she came out, she was baffled to find Emma, a close male associate to the treasurer of the Village savings scheme, standing in the bathroom.
A quick flash of intuition after, left Nosiata uneasy. The Kyowola Omwavu village savings and loan association group treasurer, Hajati Wotali Namutamba had on several occasions issued threats to Nosiata in particular on account of her firebrand nature in demanding for proper accountability of the group’s savings.  Namutamba had used Emma in particular to deliver the warnings. Namutamba had on several occasions refused to hand over the wooden boxes containing the group’s consolidated savings to members. This aroused suspicion and as time passed, the members realized she was using their money to her benefit.

Nosiata was keen to know what Emma was doing in her bathroom at night. Emma slyly managed to convince Nosiata that he had been sent by Owori to call Daka, his brother. Emma was on a sinister mission conjured up by Namutamba however. A reluctant Nosiata did not want Daka to go out at such a late hour, even if it was to see his brother.  It was 10 pm, pitch black and almost everybody else in the village had slept off.  Daka nevertheless managed to convince his mother that he won’t take long at Owori’s work station, so he accompanied Emma.

Along the way, Emma excused himself, as Daka and Owori got into a conversation seated on a bench, just outside Owori’s work station. Minute’s later gunshots aimed at both Owori, who was armed and his brother Daka rang out.  Caught unaware, Owori could hardly fire back.
As the shooting subsided, Owori lay dead, killed in cold blood. Daka, his brother however escaped by a hair breadth’s into the darkness, with serious gunshot wounds. Daka rushed to the nearby Mayuge Police station crying out for help but nobody at the police station came to their rescue. Even his screams during the shooting went unanswered. Mayuge Police Station is just opposite the Maize mill where Owori was on night duty.

After a short while, news of the shooting spread through the neighborhood. Inevitably the news reached Nosiata’s home. It was late in the night but she rushed to her son’s work station, only to find him dead and her other son missing. A sobbing Nosiata had cries from the nearby Mayuge Police station.
A bleeding Daka was at the Police station crying out for help but his pleas for help were met with cold shoulders.  Eventually Daka was rushed to Jinja Hospital in an ambulance. All the while, Daka kept mumbling to his mother that he knows the shooter and his 2 accomplices.
Daka said Emma who had lied to him that his brother had wanted to see him, just stood by in the dark and watched as the gun man, a Police officer by the name of Mugoya sprayed Bullets at them. The other accomplices, Namutamba and Godfrey Musobya just stood sentry as the shooting took place.

SUSCIPION FALLS ON NAMUTAMBA

Nosiata unmistakably points an accusing finger at Namutamba.  “Namutamba had gotten unscrupulous and shady with our group savings.  Whenever I and the other cooperating members took her to task about the status of our savings and other requisite group requirements, she would feed us on excuses, false promises and lies. She had unconvincingly told us earlier that burglars had ransacked her home and made off with the two boxes containing our savings. Seeing that we were unrelenting, she started issuing threats. I had no idea she was planning something horrendous. She would often send her emissaries to warn me. Every time, she threatened me, i would report to the Mayuge resident district commissioner’s office. I had saved money to the tune of UGX 1, 640,000. I lost all that. The group consolidated savings were to the tune of UGX, 15,000,000. Namutamba is complicit in the murder of my child because Daka clearly recognized her and her associates Godfrey Musobya and Mugoya, the Police officer who had fired the bullets, moments before the shooting begun,” Nosiata says.

With pressure unremitting, Namutamba was arrested and detained at Iganga Police station. She admitted to having swindled the money and promised to refund members money lastest, 1st July 2014, with the assistance of her husband. 
Namutamba was however released after the husband paid a paltry 3 million shillings to the saving group members, with promises to pay more in the subsequent months.
Prior to that, Namutamba had sought the services of a law firm claiming the saving member’s demands for her to account for 15 million shillings were unfounded. Ultimately however, her means to an end was to scare off those hot on her heels.
Nosiata took the lawyer’s letter to the Resident district commissioner. The commissioner referred her to the District Police Commander. Eventually she was referred to the District Police criminal investigations department. Nosiata was told the letter from Namutamba’s lawyers was only meant to scare off the saving group member’s.

DAKA’S ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED

On that ill fated day, Daka says Owori left for his work station after dinner. “I was exhausted so I could not see him off. Mom however was insisting I go the shops to buy milk. I was reluctant but eventually I rushed to the shops and got back as soon as possible because I could not find milk. On coming back I found mom with Emma. Emma told me Owori wanted to see me. I had no premonition whatsoever that there was a looming danger,” Daka says.
Daka says they passed by Namutamba’s house which is within sight of Owori’s work station. He says he saw 3 people following him behind. On reaching Owori’s work place, he sat down and asked Owori why he had called him. Owori denied sending anybody to call him.
“It was then that 3 people whom I could see clearly passed just nearby us. One whom I recognized as Mugoya suddenly walked towards us and started firing at us with an AK 47. He shot me first twice in the right leg, left forearm and thumb. Thinking he had finished me off, he started firing rapidly in my brother’s direction. It was about that time that I raised an alarm, whilst I ran into the thicket nearby for safety. Mayuge Police station was just opposite us but not a single Police man came to our rescue, even as they heard my screams for help and the gun shots,” Daka says.

Daka is currently bed ridden receiving treatment in Mulago Hospital orthopedic ward.

POLICE COMPLICTY

The shooting took place just opposite Owori’s work station. The unflagging screams for help by Daka went unanswered, yet there were Policemen on duty that night at Mayuge Police station.
Daka is unequivocal that Mugoya, a well police officer in the area was the shooter.
Even in the thick of dispute with Namutamba over their savings, group members had noticed police favoritism and partiality to her.
Nosiata says the police always frustrated their case.
 “There was a tinge of suspicion every time we went to Mayuge Police station seeking help. Mugoya had been instructed to handle our grievances but every time we talked to him, he would downplay the seriousness of our predicament. He would reassure us that Namutamba was going to pay our money. We eventually reported the case to Iganga Police on the advice of the Resident district Commissioner. Mugoya had by now started issuing threats to me. Namutamba, to all appearances, had compromised some of the police officers at Mayuge Police station,” Nosiata says.

SUSPECTS APPREHENDED

After the Burial of Owori on the 10th of July, Daka was transferred to Mulago.
It was then that family got in touch with a Police detective from Mayuge Police station by the name of Johnson Wataka. Wataka took Daka’s statement and sent the file to Kampala. In the subsequent days, Mugoya, Emma and Musobya were arrested and detained at Nalufenye police station in Jinja.
According to Wataka, the suspects were transferred back to Mayuge today.
“The suspects have been moved to Mayuge. On the day of the murder, we talked to eye witnesses, relatives and the suspects. There were Police officers on duty that night, they heard the gun shots but caution was of the essence. After some time however, they went and helped Daka. They however found Owori was already dead. We are going to get to the bottom of this case, so people should not run to conclusions yet,” Wataka says.

The Nosiata family has misgivings that the files incriminating the suspects in the murder and attempted murder of Owori and Daka respectively may go missing, if no higher authority in the Police or in the district intervenes.
Wataka says the case file for murder has been transferred to the resident state attorney Mayuge for sanctioning. “The resident state attorney has to review it before he advises on how we should proceed. We are nonetheless still investigating because the suspects deny their involvement in the murder.  Mugoya says Daka is being coerced into implicating him. If the state attorney sanctions the case file, the case will go to the magistrate.  The case file for the missing money is also still under investigation at the police region headquarters in Iganga,” Wataka says.

Namutamba is on the run however. The gun that Mugoya apparently used has also disappeared.
“Namutamba ran away because she was going to be lynched by a mob. We are still on the lookout for the missing gun,” Wataka says.

“Namutamba wanted to silence me. She was behind this plot and now she is on the run. They killed my son in cold blood and I know they want to cover up the tracks of this case. There are already pointers to that. Namutamba has run away because she knows my son saw her at the scene of the crime. My other children I left home are not safe and I’m very apprehensive. I have to pay for the hospital bills of my injured son on the meager resources I have left. I spent almost all the money I had left on Owori’s burial and now am in narrow circumstances. I seek help in getting Justice,” Nosiata says.

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