Magara murder: Second witness identifies man who allegedly received ransom

Residents of Ndejje-Kanaaba, Wakiso district, have testified and identified a suspected kidnapper who allegedly picked a ransom of Shs700 million from the family of the late Susan Magara.

This is the second time that Abubakar Kyewolya, one of the nine people on trial for the 2018 kidnapping and murder of Susan Magara, has been identified before the High Court in Kampala.

Wasswa Ssegawa, a resident of Ndejje-Kanaaba, was presented as the prosecution’s ninth witness before Justice Alex Ajiji.

Wasswa testified that on Saturday, February 24, 2018, at around 11:00 a.m., he was seated with three friends when a woman came and dropped a black laptop bag with a phone near the road.

A few minutes later, they saw Kyewolya, who had been spotted earlier wearing a hooded jumper and talking on the phone, pick up the abandoned bag and phone and walk towards Ndejje-Zanta.

Wasswa, a builder, further testified that Kyewolya crossed paths with the woman who had dropped the bag. When they asked him why he was picking up the woman’s bag, he replied that he was with her.

Wasswa told the court that they wondered if the woman had dropped fetishes (witchcraft) and that they did not follow up on Kyewolya until police contacted them during investigations.

Earlier, Ms. Jane Makumbi testified as the eighth witness, corroborating Florence Magara’s evidence that she dropped the bag containing the Shs700 million in denominations of $100 US dollar bills in Ndejje-Busabala.

Makumbi told the court that sometime in February 2018, at around 11:00 a.m., while she was washing clothes on her veranda, she saw a tall, slim woman drop a bag and a phone by the side of the road. She explained that she never saw the person who picked the bag but later heard that there were people who had seen the man who had picked up the bag and phone.

Florence Magara also testified that she saw Kyewolya walking in the opposite direction after she had dropped off the bag containing the money.

Both Wasswa and Florence Magara identified Kyewolya Abubaker in court and at the police identification parade.

When asked what helped the two to identify Kyewolya, they responded that he has facial features and a beard that resemble those of the late Mowzey Radio.

Written by Ruth Anderah