Police in Kampala Metropolitan South Region have arrested Isaac Ssali, a driver for fatally shooting Francis Masembe, a motorcyclist, who had parked along the Entebbe Expressway. Masembe met his demise around 1:30 am on Sunday when he decided to pull over on the roadside after realizing he was unable to continue riding the motorcycle with his wife, Eunice Orishaba.
The couple was returning from a drinking joint. According to Orishaba, the deceased rode the motorcycle up to Kagwa Bridge on Entebbe Expressway in Wakiso District and abruptly stopped. He informed her that he was unable to continue riding. Masembe’s action prompted his relative, Godfrey Odeke, who was riding the deceased’s motorcycle, to stop as well.
Odeke tried to persuade Masembe to continue riding due to the risky location, but Masembe instead sat on the road. “As we were contemplating on how to take my husband home and his motorcycle, a driver stopped where we were standing and started accusing us of being robbers. We informed him that were not robbers but that we needed help to transport my husband back home because he was too drunk. In that process, my husband was questioned by the driver who he was and a slight argument happened between the two. The driver who was holding a pistol shot my husband in the rib,” Orishaba told police.
Around 3 am, reports reached Katwe Police Station, the headquarters of Kampala Metropolitan South. Ssali also contacted some security personnel he knew, stating that he had shot one of the suspected robbers. Police attempted to save Masembe’s life by rushing him to Kiruddu Hospital, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival. Wanyana, like Orishaba, stated that his brother was shot dead by the reckless driver after they informed him that the person he was arguing with was heavily intoxicated.
“When he came to us with his pistol, we quickly identified ourselves and informed him that we were not robbers but just my brother was drunk. Unfortunately, my sister-in-law and I could not ride the motorcycle. If we knew how to ride the motorcycle, the driver would have not found us on the roadside and he could not have killed my brother,” Wanyana said in a statement.
Police reported that Masembe died due to excessive bleeding from a bullet wound sustained in the right rib. Ssali, according to the police, was driving a black BMW 300M. Orishaba mentioned that her husband also attempted to fight her when she encouraged him to continue riding since they were in a dangerous area. “I pleaded with the driver that he should not take my husband’s verbal exchange seriously because he was too drunk and earlier wanted to fight me his wife. But the driver did not listen to our pleas and deliberately shot my husband,” Orishaba added.
Masembe, aged 34 and a resident of Kajjansi, Makindye Ssabagabo Municipality in Wakiso District, was transported to Mulago Hospital morgue for a postmortem examination. “We have established through accounts given by his wife, sister, and male relative that the deceased was drunk. We have also established that there was an attempt to fight his wife and also had an exchange with the suspected shooter,” detectives said. Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, stated that Ssali is currently in police custody as investigations continue.
“The deceased, according to the sister had a disagreement with the wife along the way. It’s also established the suspect exchanged arguments with the deceased before the shooting,” Onyango said. Onyango also confirmed the recovery of Ssali’s pistol, along with 12 bullets. He added that the deceased was riding a motorcycle with registration number plate UDT 333V.
“Ssali produced a firearm certificate. Upon examining the body, it looked like the projectile remained in his body. Inquiries are ongoing and more details will be given,” Onyango said.
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