Nagirinya murder: Suspect Admits Lying To Court As He Defends Himself

One of the six suspects accused of planning the 2019 kidnapping and murder of social worker Maria Nagirinya and her driver Ronald Kitayimbwa has admitted lying to police after being apprehended.

Boda boda rider Nasif Kalyango, 25, said in court on Tuesday that on the crucial day in 2019, four individuals sought him for transportation to two locations—Kalerwe and later Lungujja—that had been arranged by Hassan Kisekka.

Before the trip, they gave me cash in the amount of sh50,000, Kalyango claimed.

He claimed that by the time the four customers arrived, his phone had stopped working, so he used Copriyam Kasolo’s to call Shafick Mpanga, a fellow boda boda rider.

While Isaac Ssenabulya and a certain Fred sat on Mpanga’s motorcycle as they were driven to Kalerwe, where they spent a short while before being asked to be taken to Lungujja, Kasolo and Johson Lubega rode Kalyango’s motorcycle.

“At some point along the route, my boda boda experienced a technical issue, causing Kasolo and Lubega to exit and board Mpanga’s boda boda. In the future, I drove Ssenabulya because Fred never accompanied us, Kalyango testified in court during his own defense.

He claimed that by the time he arrived in Lungujja, Kasolo and Lubega, who were by this point operating Nagirinya’s vehicle, had already been dropped off by Mpanga’s boba boda, who then signaled for him to drop off Ssenabulya, who later joined them in the vehicle.

At this point, according to Kalyango, he rode back to Nateete.

confesses to lying

Jonathan Muwaganya, the state’s attorney, cross-examined Kalyango, and he had a difficult time answering questions.

Kalyango responded that the shs50,000 was paid to him before he drove the group to Kalerwe and then Lungujja when Muwaganya questioned him about when he was paid.

When the scene reconstruction footage was played, it became clear that Kalyango had admitted to the investigators that he had later questioned Shafik Mpanga, another boda boda driver, whether the “customers” had paid him any money.

“My Lord, I lied to police officers(during scene reconstruction), but what I am telling court now is the truth since I have taken an oath to speak the truth,” he added.

While Kalyango said in court that he never heard from those passengers again after dropping them off, the state prosecution claimed that the suspect was merely attempting to distance himself from his co-accused, despite the fact that they continued to communicate long after the crime.

Lie number two

When the state prosecutor questioned Kalyango about whether the automobile being driven by Kasolo and carrying the now-kidnapped Nagirinya and Kitayimbwa had left the scene of the kidnapping before him, Kalyango acknowledged to telling another falsehood.

Kalyango was heard saying that he stayed at the spot and quickly followed the vehicle in a video clip of the scene reconstruction.

On the other hand, he claimed in court on Tuesday that Nateete police had instructed him to say as such.

All of the things I said in the scene reconstruction video were taught to me by police in Nateete. I was forced to speak everything I’m saying right now under threat of being shot,” he continued.

However, the state attorney said that Kalyango was lying to the court by claiming that the gun was on his head while he was speaking.

“There is no gun on your head in that video. You’re lying to the judge, Muwaganya said.

The two boda boda vehicles reportedly stayed behind and eventually followed the kidnapping and the vehicle driven by Kasolo, according to CCTV footage from police camera stations in Lungujja.

Contrary to what Kalyango claimed in court, he actually left the area before the car.

Kalyango replied that he was unaware of the identities of the two boda bodas that were seen riding following the vehicle shortly after it had left the area.

Co-accused interrogates him

In addition, Kalyango had a difficult time responding to Copriyam Kasolo, another of his co-accused who is acting pro se.

Kasolo urged Kalyango to affirm what he had said to police in his testimony, despite the fact that Kalyango had testified in court that he had been paid shs50,000 before he could convey the customers.

Kalyango claimed in the document that he received sh10,000 for the work completed and sh20,000 for the fuel he used throughout the assignment.

When his co-accused asked him this question, he struggled to respond.

Since that differs from what I told the policeman, he wrote, “I don’t know what the police officer put in the statement.”

Today is the next day of the trial before Justice Isaac Muwata.