Two protected witnesses who worked on transcribing audio recordings linked to the assassination of Major Muhammad Kiggundu on Monday delivered an extensive and emotional account before the International Crimes Division of the High Court, describing in detail the voices, arguments, threats, and ideological disputes captured in the materials they were given.
Major Kiggundu and his bodyguard, Sergeant Steven Mukasa, were shot dead on November 26, 2016, in Masanafu, a Kampala City suburb. Eight people were subsequently arrested in connection with the murder. They include Sheikh Yahaya Mwanje, the Deputy Amir Ummah of the Jamatil Dawatil Tabligh Salafiya, boda boda riders Muhammad Buyondo and Abdul Wahab Ssendegeya from Nsangi Stage, Musa Ssekandi, Yusuf Siraje Nyanzi, Noordin Lutaaya, Kalyango Jibreel, and Bruhan Balyejusa, who fled after being granted bail.
The two witnesses, testifying as Prosecution Witnesses Number 12 and 13 (names withheld for security reasons), told the four-judge panel led by Lady Justice Susan Okalany that they were employed by the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). In September 2017, nearly a year after the murder, they were assigned by police to prepare transcripts of several recordings capturing conversations among individuals discussing murder plots, internal feuds, government initiatives, and moral conflicts within sections of the Muslim community.
Speaking with visible tension, Witness 12 said the recordings included the voices of two unknown men explicitly threatening to kill Kiggundu. Beyond the threats, she said the recordings revealed infighting, mistrust, and spiritual lamentations, with speakers questioning one another’s faith, loyalty, and motives. Many of the voices accused certain individuals—and Kiggundu—of being “pagan,” of abandoning Islamic principles, and of living in ways that would bring them hardship in death.
Other speakers argued that the community’s deepest problems came from within, not from external enemies, and that those who judged others had never experienced the burden of responsibility or the difficulty of speaking for the entire community. The witness added that several speakers referenced a historical statement from a prince of Islam in Uganda, describing it as significant and lamenting that it had not been honored.
She said the recordings contained recollections and emotional appeals, with speakers urging people to understand the suffering in one another’s lives. In one recording, she said, speakers claimed they had asked Kiggundu to pass by the mosque between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and record a statement so that he, too, could understand how painful it was. A significant portion of her work, she said, focused on discussions about a reconciliation initiative allegedly introduced by government emissaries.
According to the recordings, prisoners charged in earlier killings were asked to admit to the crimes so they could be pardoned and released. The witness said the recordings showed strong resistance to this proposal. Several prisoners insisted they could not confess to crimes they had not committed, even if it meant staying in custody indefinitely. Some voices accused government intermediaries of delivering morally unacceptable conditions, while others said admitting to false charges would amount to betraying their faith and families.
In another section, she described encountering a heated conversation about a man who had reportedly dedicated himself to recording every negative action of Sheikh Muhammad Yunus Kamoga from childhood to adulthood. Speakers questioned whether the recording project was personally driven or supported by unknown groups aiming to destroy Kamoga’s reputation. Kamoga, head of the Tabliq Sect, is one of the accused persons who was initially sentenced to life in prison with three others on terrorism charges.
On August 21, 2017, the High Court found that they had printed and distributed fliers naming targeted individuals, held planning meetings in their homes, and sent WhatsApp messages containing pictures of graves, coffins, and bullets to rival groups. Kamoga was acquitted of all charges in 2020 by the Court of Appeal. Witness 12 said the recordings included one in which a speaker expressed deep confusion about why a Muslim would engage in such a task, questioning whether it was intended to influence ongoing tensions or shape public perception in favor of certain factions.
The recordings also captured extended reflections on loyalty, sacrifice, and the expectation that believers remain steadfast even under state pressure. One voice spoke emotionally about children left behind by imprisoned individuals, describing them as suffering in poverty while others in the community, such as Kiggundu, enjoyed comfortable lives. Some speakers lamented that the community failed to care for the families of the deceased or those in prison, and accused others of attacking their own brothers out of ambition for leadership, money, or recognition.
She said the recordings contained moments where speakers sounded overwhelmed by a mix of religious devotion and political frustration. Some voices insisted they were committed to God alone and would not surrender their beliefs or advise others to confess to crimes they had not committed. One speaker reportedly swore by Allah that he would never betray his conscience even under threat of guns, while another recounted an instance where armed men were allegedly deployed to pressure him.
She said some individuals complained that fellow Muslims were slandering one another to gain government favour, jobs, scholarships, or leadership positions. Others questioned why critics mocked the educational background of their peers when they themselves lacked superior qualifications. There were also voices criticizing and accusing Major Kiggundu for marrying a woman who “places God below and once in a while on the same level with other things,” believed to be Mama Fina, a celebrated traditional herbalist. The speaker accused Kiggundu of having strayed.
Overall, the witness said the recordings painted a picture of a community struggling with suspicion, betrayal, and moral fatigue. Many voices pleaded for unity and urged members to defend each other instead of tearing one another down in mosques. But the same recordings also contained warnings, threats, and ominous statements about judgment, faithfulness, and the consequences of failing to protect one’s own group.
The testimonies of the two UBC managers also included Witness 13’s account that it cost the Uganda Police Force Shs 2,950,000 to transcribe the recordings from Luganda to English. The witnesses tendered three transcripts in court containing their work. They noted that they had worked with the late Badru Ssemwanga Lutaya, a UBC news presenter and transcriber who has since passed on.
The prosecution, led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Thomas Jatiko and Chief State Attorney Jacquelyn Okui, has been piecing together motives, conflicts, and plots that preceded Kiggundu’s killing. He was shot by attackers riding a motorcycle. The hearing continues today, Tuesday, as the court examines additional evidence and awaits more witnesses expected to testify on the events surrounding the soldier’s death.
The accused face four charges: murder, aiding and abetting terrorism, rendering support to a terrorist organization (ADF), and confessing to being members of the same. According to an amended indictment filed on July 8, 2024, the alleged offenses were committed between 2010 and 2017 across several districts, including Kampala, Wakiso, Masaka, Kasese, Iganga, Mayuge, and Mubende. The prosecution asserts that the accused provided logistical and financial support to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), knowingly facilitating recruitment, training, and terrorist operations—allegations that the accused have denied.
Evidence before court indicates that the prime suspect, Sheikh Yahaya Mwanje, was seen along the Northern Bypass shortly before Kiggundu and Mukasa were murdered in Masanafu on November 26, 2016. Before the attack, he had reportedly released recordings containing hate speech directed at Kiggundu. The DPP’s records show that Kiggundu had told others that Mwanje was threatening to kill him and that Mwanje was in frequent communication with co-accused individuals, who allegedly deleted call logs immediately after speaking with him.
The DPP also says Mwanje, then head of Nakasero Mosque, threatened to kill Kiggundu and other Muslim clerics who opposed his leadership and management of mosque projects. Police investigations further indicate that the same gun used to kill Major Kiggundu was also used in other high-profile murders, including that of Senior Principal State Attorney Joan Kagezi; Police Spokesperson AIGP Felix Kaweesi, his driver Kenneth Erau, and bodyguard Godfrey Mambewa on March 17, 2017; and the shooting of Gen Katumba Wamala, which claimed the lives of his daughter Brenda Nantongo Katumba and bodyguard Haruna Kayondo.
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