[UAH] Did David Sejusa aka David Tinyefunza plan Dr Kayiira's murder?

I Took Part in Kayiira Murder

By Rodney Muhumuza, 13 January 2007, Monitor

In a voluntary confession that is likely to send shock waves across the nation, a former National Resistance Army (NRA, now UPDF) child soldier (kadogo), Corporal Eddie Sande, has come forward to say he was part of a platoon of 33 government soldiers that murdered former Energy Minister Dr Andrew Lutaakome Kayiira in March 1987.

Dr Kayiira, the leader of the former rebel group, the Uganda Freedom Movement, was murdered shortly after being acquitted of treason. Less than a week before his murder, President Yoweri Museveni told the BBC World Service Radio that even though the High Court had acquitted Kayiira, Museveni was sure he was guilty of treason, based on the intelligence reports available to him.

Cpl. Sande says he was a member of the NRA's Lubiri-based Central Brigade, which the Democratic Party (DP) has said is implicated in the murder by a still secret investigative report into the murder by Britain's Metropolitan Police of New Scotland Yard.

On the late evening of Saturday, October 14 2006, Cpl. Sande took this reporter by surprise when he walked into the Daily Monitor offices in Kampala and volunteered to tell the story of Dr Kayiira's assassination at the home of his friend, BBC journalist Henry Gombya.

The short and slender Sande, who claims he participated in other "liquidations" [killings], wanted to see a journalist who would help him write the story of his life. He initially asked for Daily Monitor's Political Editor, Mr Andrew Mwenda, who is away in the United States.

He then asked for our former Editor in Chief, Wafula Oguttu, who was unavailable, following which he told this reporter a shocking story.

Cpl. Sande gave his army number as RA 34452, which records from the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence have since showed to be valid.

The records, confirmed on Thursday by army spokesman Maj. Felix Kulayigye, show that Cpl. Sande is currently attached to State House, and has been involved in a number of "special intelligence assignments" on behalf of the state. Although there are some inconsistencies in the dates Sande gives in his story, the army records tally with most of his claims. Maj. Kulayigye said it was possible the corporal had deserted the army and gone underground.

In a series of interviews, initially clouded by some doubts from this reporter, Cpl. Sande recalled the events of an evening in 1987 when soldiers from the 19th battalion of the Central Brigade were allegedly briefed about a mission to eliminate an "adui" [Swahili word for an enemy] that turned out to be Dr Kayiira.

"Before going to Libya [for training], in 1987, I was in the 19th battalion [Central Brigade] under [now Brigadier] Peter Kerim. When we were called in the evening, I was at the headquarters in Lubiri. We were called for assembly at night [and told] that we were going for an operation," he said. "That was after people who were supposed to go for patrol had already left. We were all from the Brigade headquarters, not from companies.


"By then, the OC (Officer-in-Charge) of Headquarters was one Otto, sometimes called John Byuma Otto. I understand he is now in Lira." (Sunday Monitor has confirmed the existence of this officer but has been unable to locate him and has not been able to obtain his confirmation or denial, and we urgently want to hear his side of the story – Editor).

Although the call to get ready for the operation was made by Kerim, Sande recalled, it was the brigade's Intelligence Officer, (now Lt. Col.) David Kaboyo, who briefed the platoon of some 33 soldiers before heading to Makindye, the Kampala suburb in which Kayiira was sharing a house with Mr Gombya, who mysteriously survived the attack and fled into exile.

"Peter Kerim, the 19th battalion commander, told us that we were going for an operation. For that operation, he told us, there was someone who would brief us. And then we left the barracks and went to the brigade headquarters. When we reached there, we met the brigade intelligence officer. He was called Kaboyo."

Sunday Monitor has since independently confirmed that 19th Battalion was under the 163rd Central Brigade and that Lt. Col. Kaboyo was indeed Intelligence Officer at the time. We have also confirmed Brig. Kerim was at the time Commander of the 19th Battalion.

Brig. Kerim is now the army's Director of Training, operating under the office of the Deputy Chief of Defence Forces. Lt. Col. Kaboyo is still in the army as a zonal commander of land forces in the Lake Albert (Bunyoro) region.

"Kaboyo talked to us and there was another officer present called Peter Nkola. Kaboyo told us we were going for a crucial mission 'right now'. We asked him what the mission was. He said:'No, jeshi apana wuliza maswali [soldiers do not ask why].'"

Contacted for comment, Lt. Col. Kaboyo turned down several requests from Sunday Monitor to say anything about Cpl. Sande's claims or the murder of Dr Kayiira. He would neither confirm nor deny anything on record, saying "the government which I serve does not allow me to comment on that issue."

Sunday Monitor has since been told by intelligence sources that the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence became aware of this newspaper's intention to publish this story a few days ago and that all soldiers named by Sande had been ordered to make no comment.

Other security sources have since told Sunday Monitor that Kaboyo's role was to "secure the scene of crime" of Kayiira's murder but they declined to clarify whether this took place before or after the crime and this newspaper is still keen to obtain Col. Kaboyo's comment.

Cpl. Sande claims on that fateful March 6 1987 night, his platoon of soldiers took a truck ride to the house in which "the enemy" [Dr Kayiira] was said to be residing, and although they were there by8.30pm, it would be a long wait before the mission was executed. He said that although they travelled under the command of Otto, the NRA's deputy army commander, the late Maj Gen Fred Rwigyema, later joined them. Sande says the Isuzu truck on which they travelled was driven by one "Godie," whom he has since lost contact with. He insists the truck belonged to the 163rd Central Brigade.

"When we reached there, we were asked to get out of the vehicle. Then Rwigyema came and found us. He was in a jeep. But for us, we had gone with Otto, who is now retired. We got out of the vehicle, and we were told to line up and take positions. There were some selected people who advanced. We were told that if we heard gunshots we should advance up to the scene, and be ready."

Cpl. Sande says he and other soldiers present were told to shoot any suspicious person moving in their direction and to preserve their concealment, although some of his senior colleagues were frequently radioed.

But it would be hours before they heard the gunshots, he recalled. "It was late in the night when soldiers entered the house. So when we heard a gunshot we advanced as we were told," he said, explaining that they soon stumbled upon a man lying in a pool of blood - the victim of gun wielding assassins who were still hovering over the corpse when Sande arrived.

Sande's account, however, does not tell who actually pulled the trigger. He told Sunday Monitor he did not know the identity of the actual killers because he arrived after the murder. "When we reached the scene we saw a tall, big man lying in a pool of blood. Then (the late) Major Dr Peter Baingana (a former NRA Director of Medical Services) told Rwigyema (the two later led the Rwanda liberation war but were killed in its first month) that 'mission imeisha' [mission is complete] after checking [the body]."

Cpl. Sande claims that after Dr Kayiira's killing, Maj. Gen. Rwigyema - travelling in a jeep, and followed by some soldiers among whom was Cpl. Sande – travelled to the Kololo home of the then Central Brigade Commander, Gen David Tinyefuza, to convey the good news.

"We followed Rwigyema up to Kololo, where we found the afande. He was up (awake). 'Tumerudi [we are back]," Rwigyema allegedly told Tinyefuza, to which Tinyefuza allegedly replied, "pole kurudi [welcome back]."

This part of the account attracted much sceptical questioning from this reporter because Tinyefuza was a subordinate to Rwigyema and whether he would therefore report back to him after a mission appeared highly unlikely. It also appeared unlikely that the Deputy Army Commander would take part in such an operation.

Cpl. Sande said he also found it strange. But he suggested that, judging by the brevity and nature of their discussion, Rwigyema's reporting to Tinyefuza could have been more in the spirit of comradeship than hierarchy. Tinyefuza has vigorously denied any involvement in the murder of Dr Kayiira, whom he says was killed by his former comrades in UFM and its breakaway faction Fedemu.

Contacted for detailed comment, Gen. Tinyefuza said there was no truth in the claims. "It is not possible...I don't recall any of that. In any case, it is strange. All that is not true. Kayiira was killed by his true friend." Gen. Tinyefuza said but did not name the purported killer.

Cpl. Sande said he does not know for sure if Brig Kerim was physically present during the operation. "I don't know, because when we were called for fall-in at around 7 p.m., he [Kerim] came and told us that we were going for [an] operation and that someone would come and take us. Then he entered his short chassis Cross Country and drove to his residence in Kololo."

In response to Sande's claims on Monday, Brig. Kerim showed no surprise at the Corporal's account, and went on to say that he had waited 20 years for a journalist to ask him questions over Dr Kayiira's death.

Describing it as "a terrible trend", Brig. Kerim denied any involvement in the murder of Kayiira but said Cpl. Sande's account seemed to "have good information". But he said he was "not supposed to talk much" since he was still a serving UPDF soldier.

Brig. Kerim, however, corroborated the historical aspects of Cpl. Sande's account and confirmed that he knew the names mentioned by the former kadogo. Recalling that Peter Nkola was a signaller and that David Kaboyo was an intelligence officer, Brig. Kerim argued that while he did not know about the Kayiira mission, it was possible that the execution could have been the work of intelligence operatives who did not have a duty to report to him.

Brig. Kerim said 19th Battalion was the biggest battalion under the Central Brigade, and that it was composed of many companies. He said the Brigade headquarters had 180 soldiers and that each company and platoon had its own commander. "I don't know who commanded that platoon but what happens depends on individual commanders. If Kaboyo took Sande [for that operation], he took him illegally."

"I do not remember anything about that mission. I don't do secret missions…that is intelligence work...," Brig. Kerim said. The Brigadier also denied any link with Maj. Gen. Rwigyema.

Asked whether he would feel hurt by this newspaper publishing this story, which names him, the apparently unperturbed Brig. Kerim said "you seem to have good information." Asked whether this reporter should proceed with the story, he answered, "That is already a story, if a man has come out openly..."

After Kayiira's murder, the NRM government contracted Scotland Yard, the British Metropolitan Police, to investigate the case at a cost of $250,000. Uganda's tax revenue at the time was only $40 million. Scotland Yard was called in because of widespread suspicion in the country that Kayiira had been killed by Museveni's government. The government has never released the report to the public, resulting in a full-blown storm, 20 years later.

Last week the Democratic Party threatened to release the report at a rally at Constitution Square onJanuary 6, but they did not succeed as police dispersed them with teargas and rubber bullets in running street battles that paralysed business in the city. They later said they would release the report on Saturday at another rally in Masaka. Sunday Monitor has however learnt that a decision was taken on Friday not to release the report at the rally.

Later in the day, DP, quoting from the said report, issued a press statement saying Kayiira's killers were drawn from the then Central Brigade under a top General.

In the statement, DP President Ssebaana Kizito said the report identified one of the killers as Suicide Brewery, a reference to the late Maj. Marius Katungi, who he said is named by Scotland Yard as having participated in the killing of Kayiira. The late "Suicide" was known in the army for his spontaneous cruelty and was one of the NRA (now UPDF) bush war commanders.

In an interview published in Daily Monitor on Thursday, Mr Gombya, in whose house Kayiira died, said the soldier who shot Kayiira was a Muganda officer who is now a Brigadier in the army. Brig. Kasirye Ggwanga, a Muganda officer, has denied any role in the murder but said Kayiira "deserved death."

Last week, at the height of DP's claims that there was evidence for the army's complicity in Kayiira's death, Security Minister Amama Mbabazi denied such a role by the army. The army spokesman, Maj. Felix Kulayigye, said he could not comment. "Well, what can I say? No information, no comment," he said.

Asked whether he wanted his story published, Cpl. Sande said, "It is better if it is there on record (he accepted to be photographed and tape recorded) because even if you hear tomorrow that Sande Eddie is dead, you can then bring the tape. That's why I came here instead of going to The New Vision."

He said he joined the NRA in 1985 at Mulima in Mount Rwenzori. "I was under the protection of [Moses] Kigongo. We were there with men like [John] Nagenda and Jacob Asiimwe." He said he was recruited into Brig Kerim's 19th Battalion (which he says was then still under the late Col Patrick Lumumba) by one Corporal Kalibbala.

Cpl. Sande claims he later attended the Mbarara Kadogo School and was trained in Libya. He does not remember his parents but says Cpl. Kalibbala, who recruited him at a tender age, told him his father used to deal in second hand clothes and was a supplier to Kalibbala, who sold the clothes in Luwero, where he was also an NRA informer. Sande says during the war, he spent some time at Mulima (Mount Rwenzori) with other child soldiers.

Brig. Kerim told Sunday Monitor that most of his 19th Battalion recruits were child soldiers from the Rwenzori and Fort Portal region.